Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Cookies

What goes together better than peanut butter and chocolate?  Well, maybe chocolate and caramel, but that's another post for another day.  Today is all about peanut butter and chocolate!  And cookies.  Peanut butter cookies to be exact. 

 

 

Aren't they pretty!?  Not only do they taste fantastic...soft, chewy center, with a slight crunch on the outside like a good pb cookie should be...but they look beautiful too!

 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup softened butter

1 cup peanut butter (you can use creamy or chunky...I used creamy but chunky would be awesome too!)

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups flour

2-3 cups chocolate chips (I used 3 cups...it gives it a really chocolate-y taste, use less if you prefer to taste the pb more than the chocolate...2 1/2 cups would probably be perfect!)

 

***As per my norm of late, I didn't take pics until the dough was already mixed.  I'm sorry.  I promise I will get the hang of the pictures someday!  Until then, I will only post recipes w/o pics if I have complete confidence in your ability to follow along easily with out the visual.  I KNOW you can do this recipe today!  It's mainly a toss everything in the bowl and mix.  Easy Peasy!***

 

Add the softened butter and pb to your mixer (or bowl and use a hand mixer).  Mix until well combined, almost fluffy (a couple minutes).  Add the sugars and eggs and mix for a few minutes until everything is combined well.  At this point, you are supposed to mix your dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and then add to the pb mixture...I, however, dislike doing dishes and cut out extra bowls if I can.  The reason you should mix your dry ingredients is to make sure you get the salt, powder and soda mixed well with the flour and don't get lumps of any in your cookie dough.  Trust me, it's not really pleasant to bite into a cookie and get a lump of baking soda...yikes! 

 

What I do, is add the baking soda, powder and salt to the pb mixture and keep mixing.  Make sure it is well combined and kind of fluffy.  Then I add the flour.  Everything gets mixed in and no extra bowls to clean!  That's my kind of cookie! 

 

Take your dough and add in the chocolate chips.  Mix by hand with a wooden spoon.  Your dough may seem a bit crumbly, that's ok.  It will come together when you scoop it out.

 

I took a spoonful of dough, rolled it into a ball and then pressed gently to slightly flatten the cookie.  Don't smoosh it, you don't want flat cookies, just a cookie shape instead of a ball. 

 

Bake them at 350 for about 10-12 minutes.  The time will depend on the size cookie you make.  Watch them.  Once they start to crack on the top and the edges are just barely getting golden, take them out of the oven.  Let them sit on the pan and the heat will finish cooking the cookie center.  This gives that perfect chewy, slightly crunchy pb cookie we all love! 

 

And since it's December, and the season for giving...I give you permission to eat these cookies for breakfast with your coffee!  I'm pretty sure December cookies have no calories, right?  YUM!  Enjoy!

 

Happily Homemade

Sandra