There’s a special kind of magic that happens when you combine two beloved pantry staples into one perfect treat.

This recipe is for those cookies—the kind that make you forget about the rest of the world for a minute, warm from the oven, with a glass of milk close by.

A Match Made in Cookie Heaven

Let’s be honest, some flavor combinations are just meant to be, and peanut butter and chocolate is one of them.

It’s a classic for a very good reason, and in cookie form, it becomes something truly spectacular, a little bit nostalgic and entirely irresistible.

Ingredients Needed for the Recipe

Gathering your ingredients first makes the whole process smooth and simple.

Here’s what you’ll need, with a little note on why each one matters.

• All-Purpose Flour: The foundation that gives our cookies their structure. Measuring it correctly is the secret to a perfect texture.
• Baking Soda & Baking Powder: This dynamic duo works together to give the cookies just the right amount of lift and spread.
• Fine Sea Salt: It enhances every other flavor in the bowl, making the peanut butter richer and the chocolate sweeter.
• Unsalted Butter: Melted butter creates a wonderfully chewy texture and carries all those toasty, rich notes.
• Creamy Peanut Butter: The star of the show. It brings that deep, nutty flavor and incredible richness to every single bite.
• Granulated & Dark Brown Sugar: White sugar for crispness, brown sugar for moisture and a hint of molasses depth. Together, they create the ideal cookie base.
• Eggs plus an Egg Yolk: The extra yolk is a little trick for extra chewiness and a more tender crumb.
• Vanilla Extract: The flavor enhancer that rounds everything out beautifully.
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: They provide those glorious pockets of melted chocolate, balancing the salty-sweet peanut butter perfectly.

Why These Cookies Work So Well

The texture is honestly the dream—thick and substantial, yet supremely soft and chewy.

They’re packed with flavor, wonderfully simple to make, and rely on ingredients you probably already have on hand.

How to make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies?

The process is straightforward, but a few key techniques will ensure your cookies turn out absolutely perfect.

Just follow these steps, and you’ll be in cookie bliss before you know it.

Step 1: Prep Your Kitchen

Start by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C) and lining your baking sheets with parchment paper.

This little step prevents sticking and makes cleanup a total breeze, trust me.

Step 2: Combine the Dry Ingredients

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Whisking ensures those leaveners are evenly distributed, so every cookie rises and bakes uniformly.

Step 3: Create the Wet Mixture

Melt the butter in a large, heat-safe bowl. Now, vigorously stir the peanut butter right into the hot butter until it’s completely smooth and combined.

This step helps the fats blend seamlessly. Stir in both sugars until well incorporated, then add the eggs and extra yolk one at a time, mixing well after each.

Step 4: Bring It All Together

Stir in the vanilla, that wonderful aromatic touch. Now, gradually add the flour mixture, stirring just until no dry streaks remain.

Finally, fold in all those glorious chocolate chips. The dough might seem a bit different—a little crumbly, perhaps—and that’s perfectly okay.

Step 5: The Chilling Decision

Here’s a pro tip: if you have the time, cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 24 to 72 hours.

Chilling deepens the flavors and improves the texture, much like marinating. No time? You can bake them right away, they’ll still be fantastic.

Step 6: Shape the Cookies

Use a large cookie scoop (about 3 tablespoons) to portion the dough. Roll it into balls and place them on your prepared sheets.

Now, flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand into a disc shape. Peanut butter dough needs this encouragement to spread properly in the oven.

Step 7: Bake to Perfection

Bake for about 12 minutes, until the edges are a lovely golden brown but the centers still look soft.

Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes—they’ll continue to set—before moving them to a rack to cool completely.

Choosing Your Peanut Butter

You have options here, and each one brings something a little different to the table.

Conventional creamy peanut butter, like Skippy or Jif, yields a reliably smooth dough and a classic, familiar flavor.

Natural peanut butter can be used if it’s very well-stirred to a completely uniform, smooth consistency.

When you achieve that, it often delivers a bolder, more intense peanut flavor that’s absolutely remarkable.

Tips

• Measure your flour accurately. The best way is with a digital kitchen scale. If using cups, spoon the flour into the cup and level it off with a knife. Don’t scoop directly from the bag, as it packs in too much flour and leads to dry cookies.
• Feel free to play with your chips. Semi-sweet is our go-to for balance, but milk chocolate will make them sweeter, dark chocolate more intense. You can even swap out a half-cup of chocolate chips for peanut butter chips for a double PB punch.
• Use light-colored aluminum baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Dark pans tend to over-brown the bottoms, and parchment gives you that perfect, slightly crisp exterior without any fuss.

Mastering the Cookie Freezer

This recipe is a freezer champion, which means fresh cookies are never more than 15 minutes away.

After portioning your dough balls, flash-freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet until solid.

Then, just toss them all into a reusable freezer bag. They’ll keep happily for months.

When a craving hits, you can bake them straight from frozen, adding just a minute or two to the bake time.

The Secret to That Chewy Texture

That delightful, satisfying chew comes from a couple of simple ingredients working their magic.

The dark brown sugar brings moisture and a hint of molasses, which directly translates to a softer, more pliable cookie.

And that extra egg yolk we added? It contributes more fat and emulsifiers, which enrich the dough.

The result is a cookie that’s tender and chewy, not at all dry or crumbly. It’s a small detail with a huge payoff.

Serving & Storing Your Creations

A warm cookie, maybe with a cold glass of milk, is pretty hard to beat.

They’re also incredible crumbled over a bowl of vanilla ice cream for an instant, epic sundae.

Once completely cool, store any leftovers (if there are any!) in an airtight container at room temperature.

They’ll stay soft and delicious for up to 3 days, though they rarely last that long around here.