Thick & Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These wonderfully Thick and Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are loaded chunky honey roasted peanuts. Grab a glass of cold milk and enjoy a hearty snack.
Are you a cookie monster? Me too! Are you a peanut butter monster? (hand raised) Well, your gonna love this recipe.
My starting point was the cookie dough recipe I created for Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies. I LOVE those sandwich cookies. They’re light and crisp and perfect filled with fluffy peanut butter frosting and sweet jelly.
With this recipe I was going for something else. I wanted a substantial peanut butter chocolate chip cookie with a hearty texture and plenty of chew. Something a cookie monster could really sink their teeth into.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour – Has medium protein that is perfect for making cookies that don’t spread too much in the oven and have a little chew.
- Baking soda & salt – For leavening and flavor. Baking soda also promotes browning and reacts to the acidity in the brown sugar and the honey.
- Unsalted butter – Using butter without added salt allows you to control the amount of salt in the recipe.
- Dark brown sugar – Adds flavor and moisture to the cookie dough and makes a chewier cookie thanks to the moisture from the molasses in brown sugar.
- Granulated sugar – Granulated sugar is drier than brown sugar and promotes a crisp edge on the cookie.
- Honey – Adds moisture and flavor. The honey flavor is a nice compliment to the peanut butter.
- Peanut butter – For flavor, but peanut butter also has protein that keeps the cookies from spreading too much in the oven. Because they don’t spread much the cookies come out thick and chewy.
- Eggs – For moisture and structure.
- Vanilla – For flavor
- Chocolate chips – I prefer to use mini chocolate chips so the chips are more evenly distributed in the cookies.
- Honey-roasted peanuts – Chopped peanuts add crunch and flavor to the cookie.
How to make thick and chewy peanut butter chocolate chip cookies:
- Use a knife to roughly chop the honey roasted peanuts.
- Scoop the dough onto a parchment lined sheet pan. The dough won’t spread much.
- Bake just until the edges begin to brown and the center is still soft.
Pastry Chef Tips for making this recipe:
- Reducing the the amount of butter in the cookies makes them spread less. Butter is almost 20% water. The drier the dough the less the cookies will spread.
- Peanut butter has plenty of fat so helps balance out the cookie dough even with less butter.
- Peanut butter also has protein which adds structure to the cookie and absorbs moisture. This added protein keeps the cookie from spreading.
- The recipe has twice as much brown sugar than white sugar. The molasses in the brown sugar is hygroscopic (attracts moisture) keeping the cookies from hardening as they cool. A softer cookie will be nice and chewy. Honey is also hygroscopic.
- Since this is a low-moisture dough, you don’t need to chill the dough before baking. Preheat the oven while you mix the dough and they can go right into the oven.
If you love these cookies, you should try making Peanut Butter & Jelly Crumb Bars.
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Thick & Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Perfectly thick and chewy peanut butter cookies loaded with chocolate chips and honey roasted peanuts.
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Ingredients
- 10 ounces all-purpose flour (2 cups, see note)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 4 ounces unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 8 ounces dark brown sugar (1 cup)
- 4 ounces granulated sugar (½ cup)
- 3 ounces honey (¼ cup)
- 9 ounces peanut butter (1 cup)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 10 ounces chocolate chips (1 ⅔ cup)
- 4 ounces honey-roasted peanuts (1 cup, chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Line 2 half sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a bowl, whisk together 10 ounces all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon table salt and set aside.
- In a mixer bowl, beat 4 ounces unsalted butter, 8 ounces dark brown sugar, 4 ounces granulated sugar until light and creamy. Add 3 ounces honey and 9 ounces peanut butter and mix to combine. Add 2 large eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Turn off the mixer and scrape the bowl. Add the dry ingredients and turn the mixer to low speed until the flour is partially incorporated. Add 10 ounces chocolate chips and 4 ounces honey-roasted peanuts. Increase speed to medium and mix just until combined.
- Use a #40 scoop (3/4 oz) or tablespoon to scoop the dough into 1.5" balls. Place the cookie balls onto the sheet pan, spacing them 2" apart. At this point some or all of the cookie balls can be frozen to be baked later.
- Bake until the edges of the cookies are beginning to brown and the tops are lightly puffed and still soft, about 10 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
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Notes
If measuring the flour by volume use the “dip & sweep” method. That is, dip the measuring cup into the flour bin, overfill it, then sweep away the excess.
To work ahead, line the cookie balls onto a sheet pan and freeze until firm. Transfer the cookies balls to a freezer bags and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. To bake, place the frozen cookie balls onto a sheet pan and leave at room temperature while the oven preheats. Bake as directed.
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @eileen.bakingsense or tag #bakingsense!
HI Eileen, could you recommend an adjustment or substitution for those who can’t use honey? Thanks!
You could use more brown sugar in place of the honey. The texture and flavor won’t be quite the same, but they should still be tasty. Otherwise you can use another syrup like Corn syrup, Rice syrup or Agave. Any substitution will change the flavor and probably the texture.
Super – thanks for the recommendations!
Hi Eileen, trying this recipe now. At what point does the honey become incorporated into the recipe? There’s no mention of it in the actual recipe except in the ingredient list…
I’m putting it in after mixing in the egg and vanilla, because that’s the point I’m at in the recipe and noticed it missing in the instructions. Should be OK I suppose.
Oops, it always amazes me that no matter how many times I proof read I still miss things. The honey goes in with the peanut butter. But whenever you added it should be ok. Thanks for pointing out my mistake. It’s been fixed.