Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies

I’m not sure how or why, but there wasn’t a great classic peanut butter cookie around these parts yet! I’m talking crispy edges and soft centers like my go-to chocolate chip cookie, but with unmistakable peanut butter flavour. A last-minute decision to add roasted peanuts to the dough make them chunky, extra nutty and absolutely addictive. Let’s make some cookies!

By reducing the butter a little and adding peanut butter, these cookies are still super soft and buttery. The rest of the dough is like any classic chocolate chip cookie, with a smaller amount of chips and a good amount of peanuts roasted, peeled and stirred into the dough. You can of course use store-bought roasted peanuts and salted would be great but I used unsalted here.

The cookies you see in the photo above are softer and paler, under-baked a little but the edges are definitely crispy. I prefer these because they remain soft for longer, compared to cookies baked a few minutes more (see below). Neither is bad, just to be clear! You can choose to bake them for less or more time depending on how you like them. Cookies naturally dry out after a couple of days, so under-baking gives them a little insurance. More details and photos in the recipe!

They’re wonderfully chunky and have lots of texture from the peanuts so don’t skip them! Delicious without, but so much more fun with 🙂 Enjoy!

Please read the recipe notes before beginning.

Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips, roasted peanuts, crispy edges and chewy centers!

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 45 minutes mins

Makes: 22 cookies

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Ingredients

  

• 1/2 cup raw peanuts (store-bought salted or unsalted roasted peanuts are fine too)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (100 gms, light or dark)
• 1/3 cup caster sugar (60 gms)
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature (115 gms)
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 egg, at room temp (see notes)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (180 gms)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt if using unsalted butter
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

• First, add the peanuts to a dry, non-greased pan and roast, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, for 3 to 4 minutes, until they've darkened slightly. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel, and cover the peanuts with the towel and rub them with your hands to separate the peels. Slice or break the peanuts in half and transfer to a bowl to cool.
• Now preheat the oven to 175 C. Line a baking tray (or two if you're baking in batches) with silicone baking mats. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugars using a hand mixer, until pale and fluffy. Add the peanut butter and beat briefly to combine.
• Add the egg and vanilla and beat again till combined.
• Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, if using. Fold to combine into a thick, sticky dough. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips and the chopped, roasted peanuts, dispersing them evenly through the dough.
• Cover the bowl with clingfilm and chill it for 20 to 30 minutes, which makes it easier to scoop the sticky dough. If chilling for an hour or longer, the dough will need to sit at room temperature before you are able to scoop it. Keep in mind the colder the dough, the puffier the cookies will be and will need a few more minutes of baking time.
• Using a cookie scoop drop equal-sized portions (1.5 tablespoons each) of the dough onto the baking tray, at least two inches apart. You could also use a spoon if you don't have a cookie scoop. See notes for baking frozen dough.
• Bake for 12 minutes until the cookies are lightly browned on the edges and still puffy in the middle, rotating the tray halfway through the baking time to ensure even browning. Very gently, press down on each cookie with the back of a spoon or a metal spatula to flatten further if you like, then press a few extra chocolate chips onto the top of each cookie. Peanut butter gives the cookies slightly craggy edges so to smoothen them out, use the back of a spoon and gently press around the edges to get smooth, circular cookies while they're still hot. Cookies baked for 10 to 12 minutes are soft-baked, slightly gooey in the middle and they remain soft for a few days this way. You can also bake the cookies for 15 minutes if you prefer them a little firmer and they will be slightly drier than the soft-baked ones after a few days. See the third and fourth photo below for reference, the cookie on the right is under-baked.
• Allow them to cool and firm up for 15 to 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight tin at room temperature for 4 to 5 days. In the fridge, they'll last about 2 weeks and longer in the freezer. Happy baking!

Notes

*Watch these cookies come together on Instagram!

*Once the dough is ready, you can scoop out individual portions and freeze them on a tray, then transfer to a ziploc bag for about a month. When you want to bake them, set the oven to 150 C and bake for a couple extra minutes. I find that the lower temp prevents them from becoming too dry and puffy inside because frozen dough gives the baking soda and powder a longer acting time.

*This recipe requires an egg for texture and flavour. If you're looking for a recipe without eggs, check this out. I have not tried a peanut butter version of it, but I'd add 1/4 cup of the peanut butter to the dough and probably not reduce the butter since without eggs, the dough will be drier. If you do try it, let me know. Alternately, here is a chocolate peanut butter cookie recipe, you can just make the peanut butter part! Those are a little crumblier in texture, but delicious.

*Prep-time does not include dough chilling time. Cook time is per batch of cookies.

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