Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Easy, healthy recipe for the ultimate melt-in-the-mouth, chunky peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Reduced in sugar, they're crispy with a subtle saltiness that makes them irresistible.

I may not be a kid anymore, but now I'm making those cookies at university. They are GREAT - even with a ridiculous oven!

Julie

Easy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the most simple yet delicious cookies, inspired by my kids.

After 'hanging out' chez les amis ('playing' was banned a while back from our silly parent vocabulary), our kids described what they had enjoyed at various friends' homes. "You know, Maman, they made the most incredible cookies. They put chocolate chips in them - and peanut butter! Why don't we ever make them?"

I could feel myself standing to my full height. After constantly testing French pastry recipes for my second book, Teatime in Paris they'd had tons of homemade French cakes from éclairs, financiers, crêpes, tarts, macarons and ice creams.

Best Crunchy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

So I developed my best recipe. These crunchy peanut butter chocolate chip cookies needed to be low in sugar and taste fabulous - but how could I make them better? Firstly, use the best quality ingredients you can find.

Use good unsalted butter - best is French or European butter 82% - see more under baking tips and FAQs. Plus use the best crunchy peanut butter. Picking the best also means the healthiest so we can actually taste the peanuts. Incidentally, peanuts are not bad for you, as they're the nuts naturally highest in protein.

Which Peanut Butter is the Healthiest?

To choose a healthy peanut butter, opt for a brand with minimal ingredients, avoiding added sugars and oils. Popular choices include Crazy Richard's in the US or natural brands like Whole Earth in France. For the healthiest option, seek out peanut butter purée or make your own from unsalted, grilled peanuts. Just mix the peanuts to a purée without any oil, as there's enough in the nuts naturally.

See Healthline's list of the healthiest peanut butters.

Does More Butter Make Cookies Softer?

Adding more butter makes these peanut butter chocolate chip cookies slightly softer on the inside. However, they also have a delicious outer crispy texture. The particularly buttery taste means they are a bit like shortbread or softer French sablé cookie (see my recipe for salted butter biscuits, Palets Bretons).

What's more, they just so happen to be a little addictive with the slight addition of salt as a lovely surprise hidden inside.

Why do you Press Peanut Butter Cookies with a Fork?

Pressing the peanut butter cookies with a fork flattens them slightly, making the cookies even crispier on the outside.

Either press them directly on the tray before baking or flatten them lightly with your fingers.

Is it Better to Brown Butter in These Cookies?

While browning butter makes French financier cakes even tastier, there is no need to brown butter in these cookies. My tip? Instead, add a little light brown or cane sugar.

If you like your cookies with a more toasted flavour, then go for a darker brown sugar such as coconut flower sugar. What's more, this kind of sugar is so strong in flavour that the amount can be further reduced.

Why are my 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies Falling Apart?

I'd suggest you add more ingredients as in my recipe below. Using just 3 ingredients will not only risk making them taste weird but the texture may just leave them too crumbly.

Their taste is so much better with the extra butter, the two different sugars and good quality dark (bittersweet) chocolate chips - not to mention best quality peanut butter! I use a little less flour than in most recipes and add the baking powder to lighten them up, making them extra fluffy.

The egg also helps bind the whole lot together but the addition of a little salt and vanilla extract/powder just give them the best taste ever. So that gives these cookies ten ingredients! Believe me, it's worth it.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

There's no need to use an electric mixer but if you have a hand or stand mixer, then use it. My children loved a hands-on approach, which is much more fun plus gives a little arm workout as after-school sport!

Ingredients and Step-by-Step Instructions

First take the butter out of the fridge to soften it up a bit - for about 15-20 minutes. This will make creaming the butter and sugars easier - and makes a lighter texture.

Avoid melting the butter but if you do, chill the dough in the fridge before baking.

Cream together the butter and both sugars until light and creamy.
Either beat by hand using a wooden spoon or mix together using an electric hand or stand mixer with a paddle beater.

Add the chunky peanut butter, stirred well from the jar. The better the quality, the better your cookies!

Add an egg and vanilla extract or powder. Please avoid synthetic vanilla aromas; the flavour isn't nearly the same quality.

We like our peanut butter chocolate chip cookies with an extra good pinch of flower salt (fleur de sel in France) in the dough. Although this is entirely optional if you prefer without or just add less. Maldon or Celtic sea salt are the best equivalents of French fleur de sel.

Add the flour, baking powder and chocolate chips and stir well to combine until smooth. Line a couple of baking trays with either a silicone mat or baking parchment.

Space out the cookie dough well apart as they will spread while baking.

Either leave them in little mounds for a softer cookie (like I do here) or press down slightly with a fork or your fingers for a more crispy cookie.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden and crispy.

Enjoy! They're melt-in-the-mouth, not too sweet, have an appealing saltiness to them. They're rather compulsive eating - a bit on the same lines as these sesame tuiles.

Love peanut butter? Then you'll love the taste of black sesame ice cream.
Try it and discover the similar taste sensation.

This recipe was first published February 27 2012 but is now completely updated - and it's finally possible to leave a rated review!