Puffy Peanut Butter Chip Cookies — Rich vanilla cookie dough is studded with peanut butter chips and baked to puffy perfection! The ultimate soft peanut butter chip cookie with zero frills, just delicious flavor!
Ultra Soft Cookies with Peanut Butter Chips
These cookies turned out so puffy that they caught me by surprise. And they’re so vanilla-ey, but that was by design because I’m a vanilla fiend.
They are a little bit peanut buttery even though I didn’t add peanut butter to the actual cookie dough.
Instead, I used peanut butter chips and they gave a subtle peanut butter flavor, yet not so much that the vanilla flavor was lost.
I was going to add white chocolate chips, too, but I know not everyone is as crazy about white chocolate as I am, so I refrained.
I did add something to them that I almost never bake with. Good ole Crisco.
I read cookie making guides and online websites devoted to The Perfect Cookie and never tire of the epic food science quest in finding what makes cookies puffy, flat, chewy, crispy, you name it.
Many people swear by some lard to keep things moist and puffy. Scientifically, that makes sense.
And boy, puffy is what happened.
That would be pufffffyyyy.
Not using butter is a smidge of a sacrifice in the flavor department because there is nothing that can replace the flavor of butter in baking. However, in terms of puffiness, chewiness, and softness, these babies were perfectly puffalicious and right on point.
Ingredients in Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
You need very few ingredients to make cookies with peanut butter chips. Here’s the ingredient list:
- Vegetable shortening
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Baking soda
- All-purpose flour
- Peanut butter chips
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
This peanut butter chip cookie recipe is one of my easiest yet! Here’s an overview of how the recipe is made:
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the shortening, sugars, egg, water, and vanilla.
- Add the cinnamon, salt, baking soda, flour and mix until just combined. Fold in peanut butter chips by hand.
- Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, or freeze for 15 if you’re rushed.
- Using a cookie scoop, form 1-inch balls and place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Bake until barely brown. Remove cookies from oven when they look slightly under-baked.
- Allow cookies to cool and firm up on cookie sheets for at least 5 minutes before moving to cooling racks.
Can I Use Coconut Oil Instead of Shortening?
A few readers have suggested using coconut oil in place of the Crisco. In theory, that’s a good idea. However, coconut oil melts when warm, which will result in thin cookies.
However, if you’d looking for a coconut oil cookie recipe, try these coconut oil chocolate chip cookies. Just sub peanut butter chips for the chocolate chips!
Can I Use Butter Instead of Shortening?
Go for it! Make sure your butter is at room temperature and isn’t melted. Just note that your cookies won’t turn out quite as puffy as mine.
Tips for the Best Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
I like vanilla-flavored foods. Actually, I am passionately in love with vanilla-flavored most anything, and I usually use twice the recommended amount of vanilla extract in any recipe.
The way I wrote this peanut butter chip cookie recipe, you don’t need to do that, but if you’re really wanting to go nuts with vanilla flavor because you’re obsessed like I am, you could possibly add one more teaspoon or perhaps some vanilla bean paste to knock your vanilla socks right off.
Also note that instead of peanut butter chips, you could use any baking chip you’d like. Butterscotch, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, you name it.
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Puffy Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup Crisco, or vegetable shortening
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup peanut butter chips, or butterscotch, white chocolate, chocolate chips if preferred
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F and line two cookie sheets with Silpat liners, parchment paper, or spray with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together Crisco, sugars, egg, water, and vanilla, until batter is creamy.
- Add the cinnamon, salt, baking soda, flour and mix until just combined.
- Fold in peanut butter chips by hand.
- Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, or freeze for 15 if you’re rushed. Do not skip chilling the dough if you want puffy cookies because cold dough results in puffier cookies.
- Using a cookie scoop, form 1-inch balls (or roll balls by hand) and place on prepared cookie sheets, allowing for adequate spacing (these cookies do not spread much, but like all cookies, they spread some; and the colder the dough, the less they will spread).
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until barely brown. Remove cookies from oven when they look slightly under-baked and allow cookies to cool and firm up on cookie sheets for at least 5 minutes before moving to cooling racks.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Peanut Butter Cookie Recipes:
ALL OF MY PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES!
Peanut Butter Cowboy Cookies — You don’t have to be a cowboy or cowgirl to love the cookies. They’re hearty, loaded with texture, and have so many wonderful flavors going on in every bite.
Easy 4-Ingredient Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies — — These 4-ingredient peanut butter cookies are made with a secret ingredient…and lots of peanut butter, of course! These are so easy and fast to make!
Big Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies — These soft peanut butter cookies are the peanut butter version of a molasses crinkle. They’re soft, supremely chewy, and have an old-fashioned peanut butter cookie flavor!
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies — These peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are hands down the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever made. Know that I don’t say that lightly! They’re melt-in-your mouth soft and chewy, and extremely moist!
Soft Peanut Butter Chip Sugar Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting — Similar to Lofthouse Soft-Frosted Sugar Cookies, but these are for peanut butter fans! I added peanut butter and frosted them with peanut butter buttercream.
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Chip Cookies – Super soft, perfectly chewy, BROWNED BUTTER cookies that are LOADED with two kinds of chips!! An EASY one-bowl, no-mixer recipe for irresistibly DELISH cookies!!
Triple Peanut Butter Cookies — PB is used 3 different ways in these melt-in-your mouth cookies! Batch size of just 8 cookies when you don’t ‘need’ dozens laying around!
The raw dough is delicious (and I know unhealthy/”deadly” because of the raw egg, so I was excited for the finished product. For unknown reasons, they burned horribly! For my third batch, I lowered the oven to 350*, and they still burned! Finally on the fourth batch, with the oven set to 300*, VICTORY! PS, I’m going to a cookie swap tomorrow, so yes I am obsessed with getting them perfect. Now I’m trying them with toffee instead of PB. *fingers crossed!*
Wow, sounds like your oven is running on the hot side! Glad you finally had success!
If you’re in need of a great PB cookie (with or without the choc chips or the candies), these 2 are my faves on my blog
https://www.averiecooks.com/2013/01/peanut-butter-chocolate-chunk-cookies.html
https://www.averiecooks.com/2013/06/reeses-pieces-soft-peanut-butter-cookies.html
While I do like the Puffy cookies that you’re making, I love those 2 that I just linked even more :)
Also check this out for some quick ideas!
https://www.averiecooks.com/category/dessert/cookies
If you are worried about losing the butter flavor, I have a recipe that divides the butter and shortening in half, which I think makes a perfect cookie. These combinations of flavors look amazing!
My mom uses Crisco butter in her cookies and they are the best cookies every.
Made these today and they were great! I used the butter flavored Crisco to keep that buttery flavor. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for LMK you tried them with Butter-Flavored Crisco and are happy! That makes me happy!
You had me until the Crisco ;) I will substitute butter or coconut oil to avoid the trans fats :) I love your vanilla extract recipe and have my own batch brewing now.
It’s one of only 2 recipes out of 500+ on my site that use it. I did it as an experiment and proved to myself that it’s not for me either but some people love it. If you want Puffy PB Cookies, try these with coconut oil! https://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2013/03/soft-and-puffy-peanut-butter-coconut-oil-cookies.html
Glad you like the vanilla!
I made these today and they’re absolutely fantastic! Thank you :)
Oh I am so glad to hear that! Thanks for coming back to LMK you tried them!
In process of making these for a cookie exchange. I followed recipe to a T and refrigerated both for 30 min and over night. Although they are not crispy, I am not getting any puffiness. However, it doesn’t matter as they are delicious!
Glad you think they’re delicious! Don’t know what to tell you about the puffiness. I’ve had lots of people make them with success but maybe check your baking soda to make sure it’s fresh and/or use slightly more flour in your next batch. More flour will add more structure and increase the puff!
I’ve made these cookies twice in one week…They are a big hit in our house! Such a quick, simple, yummy recipe. I made the first batch following the exact recipe and they turned out great. Since I prefer using butter over shortening, I made the second batch using 1/2 shortening & 1/2 butter, they were just slightly less puffy (still a nice puff) and the flavor was great. Either way this recipe was a great success! Thanks for sharing :)
Thanks for the feedback and field report, Jill! I love comments like this because you trialed the recipe almost side by side – and I have to remake them using half butter/half shortening OR… try the butter-flavored shortening that people tell me I have to try. Good to know that there’s only slightly less puff with the butter/shortening combo but that it sounds like an additional flavor boost. Love that! Thanks for the comment and trying the recipe…twice :)
Hi, I did not read any of the many comments, so if this is redundant, forgive me. If you want to try a great alternative to the hydrogenated fat in crisco and still avoid lard and butter, try coconut oil. I have been using it in cooking and baking since the summer and it is awesome. And so healthy (we never knew!).
Thanks and I love coconut oil. This is the one and only post on my site, well other than a buttercream frosting that uses Crisco, in nearly 4 years of blogging and thousands of posts and I can say with certainty, it will be my last :) I love either real butter or coconut oil – yes indeed!