Chocolate and peanut butter is one of my all time favorite combinations. I also have a deep love for all types of shortbread, so I knew a peanut butter chocolate shortbread cookie would taste incredible! This cookie is packed with peanut butter and has chopped chocolate mixed in and is dipped in chocolate once fully cooled. The double chocolate almost gives it a Reese's flavor and the crunchy texture is so incredibly satisfying.
This recipe requires no special equipment. The most important part is to ensure that your butter and peanut butter are both at room temperature (I keep my peanut butter in the fridge so I always have to take it out ahead of time). If you need to make this recipe in a pinch with cold ingredients, you can always use a stand mixer to get a bit of extra muscle.
For your peanut butter, you'll want one without any added oils - the only ingredients should be peanuts and salt. I also used a combination of semisweet and milk chocolate but this is of course totally up to you, and I'll provide carb breakdowns so that you could easily swap in a different kind. I chose to use chopped semisweet chocolate in the cookies and then to dip them in melted milk chocolate and I loved this combination. If you're a white or dark chocolate lover though, either or both of those would taste incredible.
For scooping your cookie dough, your cookies should be about 2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons in size. I love these scoops from Cook'n Feel (I use the medium scoop usually for cookies) or this large scoop from Oxo.
Ingredients:
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter at room temperature 113g
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter* 85g
1/3 cup powdered sugar 40g
1/4 cup granulated sugar 48g
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour 160g
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (4 oz) chopped semisweet chocolate 113g
2/3 cup (4 oz) milk chocolate (for dipping) 113g
*Your peanut butter shouldn't have any added oil and should be at room temperature if it has been kept in the fridge
Total time: Around 3 hours
Prep time: About 20 minutes
Bake time: 50 minutes
Chill time: Under 2 hours
Servings: 10 cookies
Equipment
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper
Scooper (2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons)
Spatula or large spoon
Cooking instructions:
Preheat your oven to 275 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine your room temperature butter and peanut butter using a spatula or large spoon. Continue mixing until your butter and peanut butter are fully combined, with very few to no visible streaks of butter.
Next, add in both sugars and your vanilla extract. Continue to mix until everything is fully incorporated into one smooth mixture.
Add in your dry ingredients, flour and salt. Be extra sure when measuring your flour to not overpack it. Continue to mix together with your spatula or spoon, folding in your dry ingredients until a dough forms. If you haven't already, chop your semisweet chocolate then add it into your dough. Continue mixing until your chocolate is evenly dispersed.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a spoon or scoop (about 2.5 to 3 tablespoons) to portion out your cookie dough onto the baking sheet. This size scoop will create about 10 cookies. They will not spread much at all when baking and are a naturally thicker cookie so don't worry too much about spacing your dough out.
Bake for about 50 minutes. These cook low and slow, and should be ever so lightly golden around the edges at the end. Once fully baked, remove your cookies from the oven and allow them to cool fully on your baking sheet for about an hour. I recommend putting your cookies into the fridge for the second half of the hour to really ensure your cookies have cooled.
When you're ready, melt your milk chocolate in a small bowl. You can do this in the microwave - first for 15-20 seconds and stir, then for intervals of 10 seconds stirring each time until completely smooth and melted. One at a time, take your cookies and dip just the bottom and corners into your chocolate and place back onto your parchment lined cookie sheet (bottom down) to set.
To set quickly, place your cookies back into the fridge or you can allow the chocolate to set at room temperature for about an hour. These cookies can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry room or in the fridge for 3-5 days at least!
Carb and serving info:
Servings: 10
Carbs per serving: 38
Carbs for full recipe: 377
Carbs from semisweet chocolate: 73
Carbs from milk chocolate: 73
Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.