Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies From The Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book

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Today I was contemplating kids returning to school in a few weeks and remembering how my girls always wanted me to pack their lunches. They weren't keen on eating at the shcool cafeteria - can't say I blamed them. I knew if I filled their lunch boxes with foods they liked they would actually eat their lunch. A cookie for dessert was a favorite and that was easy for me, I love to bake cookies. This is recipe I originally posted in 2019, and with back-to-school season around the corner it felt like the perfect time to bring it back. These cookies are perfect for lunchboxes, after-schoolsnacks, or sneaking one with your afternoon coffee.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are the bomb!  I love a peanut butter cookie with some softness and crunch – you? I feel a little silly that I never knew exactly how when I bought a pb cookie from a bakery they had crunch and were soft and chewy at the same time.  Duh!  I now know the answer thanks to my Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book.

This recipe for peanut butter cookies was not at all intimidating and I loved the option of adding chocolate chips.  The chips did get in the way of pressing the grooves in with the fork but that didn’t effect the taste at all.

Oh, do you want to know what I did that created the crunch?  The answer is NOT using crunchy peanut butter! The recipe calls for adding some salted dry-roasted peanuts, pulsed in a food processor to resemble bread crumbs.  For me this was the perfect pb cookie – with or without chips it’s become a favorite recipe.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS ~ Cook’s Illustrated relates this news at the beginning of each recipe. Recipes for peanut butter cookies tend to fall into one of two categories; sweet and chewy with a mild peanut flavor or sandy and crumbly with a strong peanut flavor.  What we wanted, of course, was the best of both worlds- that is, cookies that were crisp on the edges and chewy in the center, with lots of peanut flavor.

They nailed it!  Here’s the recipe – enjoy!  

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Serves:

36 Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 16 tablespoons salted butter, softened

• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 cup extra-crunchy peanut butter, room temperature

• 2 large egs

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 cup salted dry-roasted peanuts, pulsed in a food processor to resemble bread crumbs, about 14 pulses.

• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350*.

2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

3. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

4. Using a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, brown and white sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

5. Add peanut butter and mix until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds; add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla and mix until combined, another 30 seconds.

6. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients; mix until combined, about 30 seconds.

7. Mix in ground peanuts and chocolate chips until just incorporated.

8. Give dough a final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain and ingredients are very evenly distributed.

9. Working with 2 tbsp. of dough at a time, roll into balls and space 2 1/2 inches apart on prepared sheets. Press each dough ball twice at right angles with a dinner fork dipped in cold water to make the crisscross design.

10. Bake until cookies are puffy and slightly brown around the edges but not on top, 10-12 minutes (cookies will not look fully baked) switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes; transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool to room temp before serving.