The Biggest (and Best) Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

I cannot stop eating these cookies.

No, seriously. Usually I am not a big chocolate cookie fan. I feel like chocolate cookies never taste enough like chocolate. But these have a nice rich flavor and then are absolutely loaded with peanut butter chips. Seriously, it might just be that the cookie dough is a vehicle for eating peanut butter chips… (Nothing wrong with that!)

I based these cookies off of a Levain bakery copycat recipe found at Parsley Sage Sweet. I read through a ton of comments on that recipe and a few other copycat recipes as well and make some changes, so I’ve posted my version of the recipe below.

These are definitely special occasion cookies– they are huge! We are talking 6oz, more than a third of a pound. But I think their size is really important in getting nice crispy edges and a cookie-dough-like center. Make them big and cut them in halves or quarters to serve if you need to. (I’ve been enjoying them cut in half, personally).

These would be the perfect cookies for any chocolate/peanut butter lover in your life, or to take to an event where you really want to impress people. They don’t take long to bring together, though you should make time to freeze them for an hour or so before baking to help keep them from spreading.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Makes: 8 huge cookies.

• 2 sticks cold and cubed butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used 1/4 cup dutched and 1/4 cup black cocoa for a rich color and taste)
• 1 and 3/4 cup AP flour
• 1/2 cup cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1.5 t vanilla
• 2 cups peanut butter chips
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

1. Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and egg yolk until blended. Add vanilla and mix briefly. Then add cocoa powder.
2. Add flours, baking powder, and salt until barely combined.
3. Add peanut butter and chocolate chips and fold in by hand.
4. Weigh out 6oz balls of dough (about the size of a small softball)– you should get about eight balls of dough. The balls should hold together loosely– don’t pack them tightly. Place in ziploc bags and freeze for at least one hour prior to baking.
5. Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes. (I prefer closer to the 18 mark so I still have a slightly underbaked center.) Let cool completely on the tray. (You can pop the tray in the fridge if you want, but please don’t try to remove them until they are cool. They have a much better texture if you let them cool before eating!)

I baked only a few at a time, and stored the rest in the freezer where they should last a couple of week if you can keep yourself from eating them. I stored the baked cookies in an airtight container and had no trouble with them staying fresh for three or four days.

This recipe is going in my secret stash of go-to impressive treats!