These cookies are everything you love about classic peanut butter cookies, but with big chunks of chocolate that take them over the top. The dough comes together quickly with simple ingredients, and the chocolate melts into little pockets of goodness as they bake. A quick fork criss-cross gives them that traditional peanut butter cookie look, and in just minutes you’ve got a pan of soft, chewy perfection. They’re simple, satisfying, and always a hit!
Ingredients Needed
- butter
- peanut butter
- granulated sugar
- brown sugar
- egg
- vanilla extract
- all purpose flour
- baking soda
- baking powder
- chocolate chips – you can use milk, semi-sweet, dark, big chunks, mini chips, whatever you want. I used dark chocolate chunks and chopped peanut butter cups.
- baking sheet – we love these over-sized ones!
How to Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
This is a simple overview of the recipe, you’ll find a full printable recipe below!
- Preheat oven and line baking sheets if desired.
- Beat together butter, peanut butter, and sugars until creamy; mix in egg and vanilla.
- Stir dry ingredients into the dough, then fold in chocolate chunks.
- Scoop dough into balls, place on baking sheet. You can also roll in sugar if you want at this point. Then, press tops with a fork for the crisscross pattern.
- Bake until edges are set and lightly golden.
- Cool briefly on the pan, then transfer to a rack.
Storage & Other Tips
- Keep your cookies in an airtight container or zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- You could also keep these in the fridge for 4 – 5 days, which helps retain more chewiness.
- If you’re looking to store these for a long time, we recommend freezing them in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Putting a piece of parchment paper between each layer keeps them from breaking easily and sticking together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Use a creamy, stabilized peanut butter (like Skippy or Jif) over natural or chunky varieties. It blends better into the dough and helps prevent crumbly, oily, or greasy results.
This can result from using too much flour, over-baking, or packing flour into the measuring cup. Spoon and level the flour, avoid over-baking, and pull the cookies when the edges are set but centers are still soft.
Chilling isn’t necessarily required, but it helps cookies hold their shape, thicken up, and develop a deeper flavor. A great option if you have the time!
Mix the dough only until combined. Over-mixing activates gluten and can make cookies rigid and dry.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ cup peanut butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ – 2 cups chocolate chips honestly, I don’t measure- I just toss ’em in!
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375℉.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, peanut butter, and sugars until smooth and creamy. Add egg and vanilla until combined.
- Mix dry ingredients together in a smaller bowl (flour, baking soda and baking powder) and add to dough in a few additions, mixing until well incorporated. Add chocolate chips and mix to combine.
- Drop into 1″ balls on an ungreased (or parchment/silicone lined) baking sheet. Gently press a crisscross pattern into top of cookie with a fork.
- Bake for 6-8 minutes, until edges are set and bottoms are very lightly browned. Cool for a couple of minutes on baking sheets and then transfer to a cooling rack.
Nutrition
Questions & Reviews
Yum! I’ve been trying to find a good peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe and have yet to find one. I’ll have to give this one a try!
I made these this afternoon, with the Reese’s PB cup addition. I’m not even a huge fan of peanut butter cookies, but these were DELICIOUS!! Thanks for another great recipe!
I literally looked for a pb cookie recipe on here a week ago. The problem
With my recipe…they are dry. Do you have that problem with this one?
Noticed that there wasn’t any salt. Omission or just no salt?
Thanks.Looks yummy.
You get plenty of salt from both the peanut butter and the salted butter, so you’re good to go!
Since I’m allergic to nuts, can I sub in sun butter for the peanut butter? Thanks-these look delish!
I’ve never cooked with sun butter, but you can certainly try it!
I’ve always wondered why you have to criss cross peanut butter cookies. What would happen if you skipped that step?
With this recipe, they just don’t flatten out very much on their own and you end up with a puffed center (so they don’t bake as evenly). I know because I’ve tried, lol. But not all PB cookies are like that; some work just fine when dropped into balls and the crisscrossing is more for looks 😉
I’m going to be making these soon. We love cookies around here!
A. Maze. Ing. I am so hungry right now and craving sweets. Thought the tootsie rolls I just ate would do the trick….until I saw these PB cookies. Yum!
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
And what does the oven temp need to be set at? I really need to make these! 🙂
Use regular, salted butter. And the baking temp is 375 🙂
Hi, just wondering what temperature to bake these at? or maybe I just overlooked it. -Elaine
oops, sorry! 375 🙂