Peanut butter is one of those ingredients that I have grown to appreciate differently as an adult. Rather than just being a sandwich filling, it is also a way to add a bit of salty sweetness to a dessert. Conversely, it can add a little bit of sweet saltiness to a savory dish. If you’re craving a sweet dessert with a note of salty, make these cookies.
The original post from March 2021
It’s been different over the past year when I bake. Between staying at home due to Covid and living at new to us places, I have had very few recipe testers. It’s changed the way I do my testing, so that I can try more samples of my recipes without needing to eat more food than I want in a single serving. Of course, I also have my husband as a readily available tester, but normally I would share with a much bigger crowd.
Trying to keep my eating from going too far off the rails, I usually make a batch and sample one or two. I make any needed tweaks, cook/bake again, and sample one or two. This process is repeated as many times as needed until the recipe is a success.
I followed that process when making these peanut butter and chocolate cookies. There was one small snag. These cookies called to me. Within half a cookie, I knew that I had created a really good recipe. I offered the other half to my husband, who gladly ate it.
I then went about baking the rest of the batch. Thankfully I only made a half batch. Keep in mind- that was round one. I needed to make these cookies again to assure myself that the recipe was correct and exact.
Again, I made a half batch, as two adults definitely do NOT need 42 cookies in their kitchen. After baking and photographing these cookies, I put them in storage containers. Every day for three days, I ate at least two cookies. This is not like me at all. I usually only eat dessert on the weekends, but these cookies called me. Their siren song was loud and clear. I needed to eat more of them.
The short version of this story is such: If you enjoy peanut butter and milk chocolate, you need to make a batch. These are some of the most addictive cookies I’ve ever made.
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies, Oh My
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups chopped mini peanut butter cups about 32 whole
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350°F.
-
Combine butter and both sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on speed 2 for 4 minutes.
-
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on speed 2 until incorporated and scraping sides to ensure that the batter is thoroughly mixed.
-
Add vanilla and peanut butter, mix on speed 2 until fully combined.
-
Add flour, salt, and baking soda, mixing until batter is cohesive.
-
Add chopped peanut butter cups to dough, stirring until distributed.
-
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
-
Scoop heaping teaspoons of dough onto the prepared sheet.
-
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookie bottoms are golden.
-
Transfer cookies to a baking rack and cool fully.
