Soft n’ Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies with White Chocolate

This post has been updated for recipe, content and photos since it’s original publication in 2016.

I’m particular about my peanut butter cookies — and because I think of you as a cyber-version of me, I imagine  that you like a soft, chewy peanut butter cookie that’s loaded with chunky bits. That’s what these peanut butter cookies are. Soft and chewy with a blend of chopped dry roasted peanuts and white chocolate chips. They are sweet and salty and ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. Seriously. This batch of peanut butter white chocolate chips cookies didn’t last 2 days in my house. I bet they won’t in yours either.

A 20 year drought – peanut butter white chocolate chip cookies

I’ve waited 20+ years to make Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies.  You see, my daughter, Emily is allergic… that is highly allergic to peanuts. We discovered this when she was just a toddler.  We were having dinner at my grandmother’s  house and Madou had purchased some bakery cookies, including some peanut butter cookies, especially for Emily.  What munchkin says “no” to a cookie?  

Two bites in and she started getting red blotches all over her face..  Her eyes got wide and she looked at me and said, “Mommy, I feel funny“.  She was having trouble breathing.  There was no Benadryl in the house.  We jumped in the car to race to the Emergency Room and before we could even get down the block, she threw up…  and went right back to normal.  The blotches disappeared, her breathing eased.  Her little system was apparently highly efficient at getting rid of what shouldn’t be there. Subsequent allergy tests confirmed her sensitivity and just like that peanuts were OUT.

So, now that my daughter is grown and out of the house, I’m making up for lost time with these peanut butter white chocolate chip cookies.  When my husband saw them his eyes gleamed and without a word spoken between us we “Hoovered” through this batch with the efficiency of a Roomba on steroids. Not just because of the drought… but because they’re so good! Just salty enough. Not overly sweet. Dry roasted peanuts make a difference too — we like Emerald Roasted and Salted Virginia Peanuts — look for ’em. When Scott discovered the white chocolate chips he was 100% smitten. You will be too!

Cookie Ingredients 

• Sugar
• Brown Sugar
• Butter
• Peanut Butter (smooth or chunky)
• Honey
• Egg
• Vanilla
• All Purpose Flour
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• White Chocolate Chips
• Dry Roasted Peanuts
• Sparkling Sugar

I played around a bit with the best way to form these cookies. Normally, I would just scoop them with a tablespoon onto the cookie sheet and use a fork to cross-hatch those familiar lines on the top.  That works, ok, however, because these cookies have peanuts and chocolate chips, the edges tended to be more ragged once I pressed them down. Here’s the best way I found to form them.

Forming the cookies

1. Measure the chunky peanut butter cookie dough with a cookie scoop
2. Roll them into smooth balls.
3. Drop them on the cookie sheet about 2-3 inches apart.
4. Make the cross hatch with a fork, pressing down so the dough is about 1/2″ thick.
5. Finish with sparkling sugar.

This gave me more even edges without any over or under cooking. 

What size cookie scoop to use

I have 3 cookie scoops. One that only holds 1 1/4 teaspoons of dough. Another that holds 1 1/2 tablespoons and a third that holds a quarter cup. You can use any scoop you wish, so long as you leave ample space between the chunky peanut butter cookies cookies on the sheet pan for the eventual spread — and take note of different baking times.

• 1 1/4 teaspoons only takes about 6-7 minutes to cook.  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons took 10-11 minutes.
• I didn’t make any gigantor 1/4 cup cookies, but I can imagine they would take upwards of 20 minutes, if not a little longer.

How to bake peanut butter cookies so they’re soft and chewy

The key to soft, chewy cookies is removing them a minute or so before they’re totally baked and letting the cookies rest for 5-10 minutes on the baking pan before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. They should firm up on the pan and transfer easily with a spatula.

He said/she said

My favorite were the small 2-3 bite 1 1/4 teaspoon cookies — to me, they’d be the perfect size for a quick snack without feeling like you’d over-indulged.  Scott liked the larger ones – because, you know… MAN-SIZED. I think it’s a guy/girl thing, but let’s be honest, we both had more than our share of each size. 

More Cookie Recipes: 

• Chocolate Mocha Pecan Chunk Cookies
• Dark Chocolate Cherry Ripples
• Pecan Sandies
• Key Lime Sparkle Cookies
• Ritz Fluffernutter Cookies

More Peanut Butter Recipes: 

• Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream
• Peanut Butter Magic Shell
• Fluffer Nutter Brownies
• Chicken Sates with Cucumber Relish

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Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cookies, peanut butter

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 20

Calories: 223kcal

Author: Sara Foster

Don't wait 20 years to make these -- like I did.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, room temperature
• 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar firmly packed
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white chocolate chips or chocolate chips or peanut butter chips
• 1/2 cup peanuts coarsely chopped
• sparkling sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Combine in a large bowl the butter, peanut butter, and sugars. With a hand mixer on medium speed, cream the butter mixture together. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to combine.
• Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, slowly, until just combined and being sure not to overwork the dough.
• Scoop the dough into rounded tablespoons and deposit 3 inches apart on the baking sheet. Create a hashtag # with a fork and sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a little sugar and chopped peanuts.
• Bake for 5 minutes, then shift the baking sheet 180 degrees and bake for another 5-7 until browned and crisp. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring cookies to a rack to finish cooling. Keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 223kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 110mg | Potassium: 91mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 145IU | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1.2mg

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