Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

My friends had a little cookout/game night last night to say goodbye to a friend who's moving. Our friend has an unyielding love for all things peanut butter, so of course I thought to make a sweet peanut buttery treat for the occasion. I was so busy yesterday that I knew whatever I made had to be quick. I immediately remembered some Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies I had come across before on the Martha Stewart website. Glancing back over the recipe and reading numerous comments about the cookies being dry and bland, I decided to look for another recipe. My search took me to my beloved All Recipes where I found this recipe. After reading the great reviews, I decided to use a slightly modified version of the recipe. And I'm certainly glad I did, because these cookies were great!

After making some seriously sinful Levain Bakery inspired cookies recently which used cold, cubed butter rather than the usual room temperature, I decided that cold butter is now my secret weapon when I don't want my cookies to spread while baking. Using cold butter and a cookie scoop gave me the most darling, perfectly rounded cookies, a look that I adored about the original Martha Stewart cookie inspiration.

The combination of the peanut butter cookie and the melted chocolate morsels make these cookies irresistible. And the texture on these cookies are magical! With an almost fluffy interior, the crumb is along the lines of what you'd find in a cake.

These cookies are divine, and if you're looking for a peanut butter and chocolate fix, look no further. This is one mighty fine cookie.


Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from All Recipes
makes about 40 cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the cold, cubed butter and brown sugar until thoroughly combined and fluffy. Beat in peanut butter, vanilla and eggs.

Sift in flour, cornstarch, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Mix until almost combined. Add in the chocolate chips and finish mixing until everything is incorporated. Be careful not to over mix.

Using a cookie scoop (I used a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop), shape and place cookies onto a parchment lined sheet pan about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 12-16 minutes, or until cookies are set and bottoms are golden. Be careful not to over bake the cookies, the tops will only be lightly golden when they are done.

Let cool on sheet pans for 5 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks to cool completely. Store in an air tight container.