For fans of chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter, these cookies are a must to try! No two flavors could be better paired than peanut butter and chocolate, and when folded into chocolate chip cookie dough, the results are unbeatable! The cookies have become my daughter’s specialty. This budding baker has eclipsed mama’s cookie baking skills with her innate sense of timing regarding how long to mix the dough and when to take the cookies out of the oven, which are two important factors for achieving cookie success. My daughter is also exploring baking different types of cakes. [We don’t mind being her taste testers!] She has developed her signature layer cake, which uses Polish Chocolate Sponge Cake (Biszkopt ciemny) for the cake base. She fills the cake with ermine frosting or mocha flavored whipped cream and frosts it with whipped chocolate ganache. It’s a big hit within our family!
Turning back to these peanut butter-y cookies. . . . They are similar to chocolate chip cookies except the tops are wonderfully cracked, and they have a relatively subtle peanut butter flavor. These mega cookies are simply delicious! Below is the recipe followed by step-by-step instructions with photos. [For best results, it is recommended to refrigerate the cookie dough at least an hour before baking, so you should plan accordingly. If you need the cookies in a jiffy, you can still make them without refrigerating the dough, but it might be challenging to roll and shape the dough.]
| Servings |
large cookies
|
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 large or extra-large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar for coating
Ingredients
|
|
- Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.
- Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Stop mixer, scrape the sides of the bowl, and then add peanut butter to bowl. Beat on medium speed until well combined. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl with spatula.
- Turn on mixer to medium speed. Add eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl with spatula. Turn mixer back on medium speed and mix in vanilla extract. Reduce to low speed and gradually add in flour mixture until just combined. Briefly mix in chocolate chips.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least one hour before preparing for baking.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.
- Place white, granulated sugar for coating (1/3 cup) in small bowl. Form dough balls that are about the size of a golf ball and roll in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheets, 8 balls of cookie dough per cookie sheet.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. [Be careful not to overbake.] Using a spatula, carefully transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for remaining dough.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
While I usually start off with saying that you should preheat the oven, since the dough will be refrigerated for an hour or so, you’ll see the “preheat oven” step later below. First off, you need to mix or whisk together 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Then bring out your electric mixer and beat 1 cup unsalted butter (i.e., 2 American sticks or 228 grams), 3/4 cup brown sugar, and 3/4 cup white sugar until light and fluffy. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl.
Measure out 1 cup of creamy peanut butter.
Add the peanut butter to the bowl.
Beat on medium speed until the peanut butter is thoroughly combined into the butter-sugar mixture. Stop the mixer again and scrape sides of bowl with a spatula. Then add 2 room temperature eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Stop the mixer, scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula, add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and beat at medium speed for half a minute.
Turn down the speed of the mixer to low and gradually add in the flour mixture until just combined. Don’t overmix!
Add 2 cups chocolate chips to the bowl and briefly mix in on the lowest speed possible.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least one hour before baking.
When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Place 1/3 cup white sugar in a small bowl. Using your hands, form dough balls that are about the size of a golf ball and roll in the sugar.
Place on ungreased cookie sheets, about 8 balls of cookie dough per sheet.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown around the edges. [Beware of baking the cookies too long!] Using a spatula, immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool, being careful so that the cookies do not break apart during the transfer. They will be pretty delicate when they are right out of the oven.
Repeat the process for the remaining cookie dough. And that’s it! They are delicious when still warm but are equally delicious when served at room temperature. They also freeze well.
Bon appetit!
