Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Peanut Butter and chocolate is a combination that will never get old. These peanut butter chocolate chip cookies bake up crisp around the edges and soft in the middle.

peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies on a wire rack

These cookies were first added to our cookie archives back in 2013, but they are such a staple (and always such a hit at our house) that it felt like time to bring them back to your attention with some fresh new photos. They are completely classic. A salty and sweet peanut butter base studded with chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or even M&Ms – depending on the mood you’re in.

If you love this flavor combination and are in the mood for a cookie cake (or need one for an upcoming celebration!), be sure to check out my Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookie Cake.

Peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies are great for freezing, so I wanted to share these now in case you wanted to tuck some in the freezer to bake a few on a chilly winter night. 

You may already have everything you need to bake these. Here’s all it takes.

smooth peanut butter in a measuring cup

Ingredients

  • All-Purpose Flour – Just regular AP flour needed for these cookies. I’ve also made these with a gluten-free 1:1 flour sub (I like King Arthur’s) with great results. 
  • Creamy Peanut Butter – I have always made these with conventional creamy peanut butter (like JIF), but I’m sure they would be great with crunchy peanut butter as well. If you try them with natural peanut butter, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
  • Unsalted Butter – As with most baking recipes, it’s a great idea to use unsalted butter and then add measured salt to your recipe for consistent results. 
  • Sugar – You’ll need both white (granulated) sugar and light brown sugar to give these cookies that tender, chewy texture.
  • Cornstarch – Cornstarch helps the cookies to bake up thick and stay and soft and tender for longer after baking. 
  • Baking Soda, Kosher Salt, Pure Vanilla Extract, Large Eggs – Standard cookie baking ingredients. 
  • Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips / Chunks / M&Ms – When I first made these cookies, I used chips. More often now, I go for the larger bites of chocolate that come from semi-sweet chocolate chunks. They’re also great with M&Ms or a combo of chocolate chips and M&Ms. Pick your favorite!
unsalted butter on a white plate

How to Freeze Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

To Freeze: Prepare dough as directed. Line cookie dough balls up on a sheet pan and transfer to the freezer. When dough balls are frozen solid (3 to 4 hours), transfer to a freezer-safe bag. Freeze for up to 6 months.

To Bake from Frozen: Bake on a prepared sheet pan directly from the freezer at 300°F for 15 to 17 minutes.

My Master List of Christmas Cookies

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cookies on a wire cooling rack
4.89 from 9 votes

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These peanut butter chocolate chip cookies bake up super soft and slightly chewy.
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 12 minutes
Total: 32 minutes
Servings: 24 cookies

Equipment

  • Mixing Bowls
  • Stand or Handheld Mixer
  • Half Sheet Pan
  • Wire Cooling Rack

Ingredients 

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (1 cup of butter = 2 regular sticks / 16 Tbsp)
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter (use conventional peanut butter like JIF; not natural)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 11 ounces chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or M&Ms (you can also use a mix of these)

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F / 177°C. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.
  • Using a standing mixer or hand mixer, beat butter, both sugars, and peanut butter until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Add the eggs and vanilla and mix on low-medium until evenly combined.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the bowl all at once and mix on low just until combined.
  • Mix in the chocolate just until combined. (See note.)
  • The cookie dough will be very soft. In order to make it easier to handle, you can refrigerate it for up to 30 minutes, but you can also proceed immediately by using a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop or a spoon to drop balls of dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. Leave a few inches between the cookies – they will spread out as they bake.
  • Bake just until the edges darken slightly. The centers should still look very pale and soft, 9 to 12 minutes.
  • As soon as you remove the pan from the oven tap it firmly on the counter a few times to deflate the cookies. (This will compress the centers, making them soft and chewy.)
  • Let the cookies cool on the sheet pan for at least 5 minutes. (Note: When they come out of the oven, these cookies will be very tender and break easily. Leaving them on the hot sheet pan helps them to hold their shape while still staying very soft and tender.) Enjoy!
  • Store cookies in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Notes

For photo-worthy cookies – If you’d like to, you can save about 1/2 cup of the mix-ins and add press them into the cookie dough right before baking. This just makes the toppings stand out a bit, as in the photos above. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 188mg | Potassium: 144mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 260IU | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Author: Jess Smith via Inquiring Chef
Cost: $3.00
Calories: 297
Keyword: chocolate and peanut butter, chocolate chunk cookies, cookies
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About Jess Smith

Jess is the recipe creator and photographer at InquiringChef.com. She spent nearly a decade as the Chief Recipe Developer for the award-winning meal planning app Cook Smarts. Her colorful, healthyish recipes have been featured in popular online publications including Parade, Hallmark, and HuffPost.

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36 Comments

  1. Hi! I make these cookies a few times a year and they’re always amazing.
    The last two times I’ve made them the texture has been a little lighter than usual. Did anything change with the recipe when you updated it? We loved the old ones and I’m not sure what I’m getting wrong 🙁

    1. Oh no Steph! I’m so sorry to hear that. I didn’t change a thing about the recipe when I updated it. Measurements and instructions are just the same as they’ve always been. Is there any chance you’re using a new brand of butter or peanut butter? This is random, but I recently made some of my go-to cookies with a generic grocery store brand butter and they came out totally different than usual. (Just a thought since it’s fresh on my mind.) The other thing that sometimes messes with the texture of cookies is the temp of the butter. If it’s too melty / soft you might get flatter, lighter cookies.

  2. 5 stars
    These cookies are very good. Nice combination of peanut butter and chocolate chips. I made a little smaller cookie so they only took 10 minutes to bake. I also used milk chocoolate chips