Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, always has terrific recipes and these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies are no exception. Peanut Butter and Chocolate are the perfect pair, and these cookies end up tasting a lot like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. All that is needed is a big glass of cold milk.
Make sure you use chocolate chunks, not chocolate chips, as they really give a nice, rich chocolately flavor to the cookies. Here is how you can make your own.
You can find the basic recipe here. Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or Silpat and set aside.
In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until well mixed.
Mix in the vanilla and the peanut butter. Quickly mix in the dry ingredients until a dough just starts to come together then mix in the chocolate chunks.
At this point I like the let the cookie dough chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking. I think this chilling process lets the dry ingredients absorb the wet ingredients and creates a more flavorful and tender cookie.
Scoop out the dough using a #24 scoop. Place the dough balls, evenly spaced, onto the prepared baking sheet. I placed 6 dough balls per baking sheet.
Bake for 15-17 minutes or until slightly underdone looking. Do not overbake. Let cookies rest on baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
