These peanut butter packed cookies are made for peanut butter lovers. It's a peanut butter dough, with peanut butter chips and peanut butter cups, and they all come together for a perfectly salty and sweet, deliciously decadent cookie.
At a cafe in Cambridge, I had a peanut butter cookie that might have been one of the best cookies I've ever purchased, especially outside of a bakery. I couldn't stop thinking about the soft texture and how peanut butter forward it was. It was sweet with just a hint of chocolate and I knew I needed to recreate it.
These cookies don't require a long chill time, and since we use browned butter there is no need to wait for room temperature butter either. This means you can have your peanut butter fix in just a couple of hours!
For this recipe, I used a non-natural, smooth peanut butter. While I'm sure they would be delicious with a natural peanut butter too, to achieve this incredibly smooth and soft cookie texture, I felt it was important to use the classic peanut butter from childhood. Just know that if you go natural in this case, the texture of your cookie will likely be different.
Ingredients:
9 tablespoons unsalted butter 127g
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour 150g
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar 96g
1/3 cup granulated sugar 64g
1/3 cup non-natural smooth peanut butter 85g
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (6oz) peanut butter chips 170g
7 large peanut butter cups, cut into thirds 148g
Prep time: About 30 minutes
Chill time: 1 hour
Bake time: 12-14 minutes
Servings: 15 cookies
Equipment
Spatula or large spoon
Cookie sheets
Parchment paper
Large cookie scoop (about 2 1/2 - 3 tablespoons)
Heavy bottomed non stick pot
Cooking instructions:
Brown your butter. Place your butter in a pot or pan (I recommend using a nonstick heavy bottomed pot) on the stovetop on a low to medium heat. After it melts, you'll hear it begin to crackle. Stir the melted butter and watch it carefully as it can burn easily. You'll start to smell a nutty aroma (you'll know it when it happens). Once you see the color turn to a light brown or amber, remove your pan from the heat and transfer your butter and all of the brown bits at the bottom into a large, heat proof bowl and set aside to cool slightly.
In a separate, medium bowl, combine your dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
Add your light brown and granulated sugar to the bowl with your browned butter. Stir together using a spatula or large spoon to help further cool your butter and to fully combine your sugar into the butter.
Stir in your peanut butter. With your butter still being warm, your peanut butter should melt into your mixture. Continue to mix until you see no more streaks of peanut butter. Then add in your egg and vanilla extract. Mix with speed to incorporate, continuing until the mixture is smooth and thickened.
Add in your combined dry ingredients to your wet ingredients, and fold together until a shaggy dough forms. Use a sharp knife to chop your peanut butter cups into thirds, and add about half into your dough along with all of your peanut butter chips. Continue to fold into your mixture until your dough has formed and your chips and peanut butter cups are evenly dispersed.
Onto a lined cookie sheet, I used parchment paper, use a cookie scoop or large spoon to portion out your dough - it should make about 15 cookies, 2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons per cookie. Top your scoops with your remaining chopped peanut butter cups and gently flatten the scoops with the palm of your hand. Place into the fridge to chill for about an hour.
Once your dough has chilled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place into the oven to bake for about 12-14 minutes. Allow your cookies to cool for about 10 - 15 minutes, and enjoy!
Your baked cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container for a few days at room temperature or in the fridge, but they will taste best fresh baked and enjoyed the same day you made them. You can also freeze some or all of your dough to bake later. To do this, place your scooped and sugar rolled cookie dough onto a baking sheet and into the freezer for 12-24 hours. Then, transfer your frozen dough to a plastic bag or airtight container and store in the freezer. To bake from frozen, set your oven to 325 and bake for about 15-17 minutes.
Carb and serving info:
Servings: 15 cookies
Carbs per serving (1 of 15): 32
Carbs for full recipe: 482
Carbs from peanut butter cups: 84
Carbs from peanut butter chips: 91
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.