These are the best chocolate peanut butter chip cookies ever. Super soft, perfectly chocolatey and absolutely delicious!
Soft and chewy, these decadent chocolate cookies are probably one of my favorite cookie recipes ever. And that’s saying a lot, because if there’s one thing I’m good at, it is enjoying and appreciating cookies of all varieties.
Decadent Chocolate Cookie Dough
The cookie dough for these chocolate peanut butter chip cookies comes together with minimal fuss. Butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla…you know the drill.
When it comes to the adding the dry ingredients, here’s a quick heads up:
Because cocoa powder can hide a lot of pesky little lumps, it helps to whisk or sift the dry ingredients together before adding to the cookie dough. I know, I know, extra step and all that, but as one who normally avoids doing this, it really is worth it in this recipe so the cookie dough is cohesive and smooth.
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder vs Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder
The recipe calls for natural, unsweetened cocoa powder. Like every day, basic Hershey’s cocoa powder.
The cookies are ultra-chocolatey using this type of cocoa powder. Don’t panic if the mixed cookie dough looks lighter in color than you were expecting for a chocolate cookie. The cookies deepen in both flavor and color while baking (and cooling).
However, if you want an even darker, richer cookie, you can sub in Dutch-process cocoa powder. If doing so, reduce the amount of baking soda in the recipe to 1/4 teaspoon and add 1 teaspoon baking powder.
Peanut Butter Chips (and More)
These cookies are obviously divine with peanut butter chips. Especially if eaten warm. That delectable peanut butter chocolate combo is unbeatable.
However, that chocolate cookie base should not be discounted. It is respectably built for any number of chip substitutions or combinations.
Other Cookie Chip Add-In Ideas:
- half peanut butter chips + half semisweet chocolate chips
- all chocolate chips (I’ll let you choose the “flavor”: milk, semisweet, bittersweet)
- white chocolate chips
- chocolate chips + toffee bits
- hear me out on this one: orange zest in the cookie dough + semisweet chocolate chips
What other combinations are we missing here??
This is one of my all-time favorite cookie recipes ever.
While the cookies are absolutely divine stored in the fridge and eaten cold, nothing quite compares to enjoying one of these chocolate peanut butter chip cookies slightly warm with ice cream or a cold glass of milk.
YUM. Such a classic (and classy) cookie – these babies will never go out of style.
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The Best Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
- 1 cup (227 g) butter, softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup (159 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (159 g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 large (100 g) eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups (320 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup (57 g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ to 2 cups (300 to 340 g) peanut butter chips (a 10-ounce bag)
Prevent your screen from going dark
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two or three half sheet pans with parchment paper, lightly grease with cooking spray, and set aside.
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In a bowl with a handheld electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.
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Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until well-combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
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In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt (this helps eliminate pesky small lumps that are common in cocoa powder).
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Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined and no dry streaks remain. Add the peanut butter chips and mix (with the mixer or by hand if you don’t want the chips to break apart) until combined.
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Scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon size portions (I use a #40 medium cookie scoop) and roll into balls. Place several inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
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Bake for 10 to 11 minutes until the cookies are just set around the edges and slightly crackly on top. For super soft and chewy cookies, don’t over bake.
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Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for a couple minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
Puffy Cookies: if your cookies come out too puffy after baking, try a) immediately out of the oven, dropping the cookie sheet a few inches above the counter to flatten slightly or b) reducing the oven temperature by 25 degrees or c) next time, keeping an eye on the dry ingredients and backing off just slightly (maybe 2 to 4 tablespoons less flour if needed).
Flat Cookies: if your cookies are flattening too much while baking, try a) increasing the oven temperature by 15 to 25 degrees, b) next time making sure the butter isn’t overly softened/melted, c) use cold eggs from the fridge, or d) add a few tablespoons more flour or cocoa powder to the dough.
Serving: 1 cookie, Calories: 115kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 24mg, Sodium: 109mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 9g
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (inspiration from this old recipe)
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