Who doesn’t love the timeless combination of chocolate and peanut butter? I personally believe that there is no end to the ways that these two BFF flavors can be combined and enjoyed and these cookies are one of my favorites for sure.
Last week, I found myself with an abundance of peanut butter chips (which is not a bad problem to have) and I began searching for fun ways to remedy this surplus. I found Modern Honey’s copy cat recipe for Levain Bakery’s famous giant dark chocolate peanut butter cookies and felt very compelled to bake them and I am so glad that I did.
They are incredible. Like totally incredible. Like if a brownie and a peanut butter cookie had a baby…
Let’s get them started…
The first step is to cube up 2 sticks of cold butter and then return them to the refrigerator while you gather the rest of the ingredients. Next, gather 1 cup of tightly packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup of dark baking cocoa, 1 cup of cake flour, 1 1/3 cup of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and last, but certainly not least, 1 1/2 cup of peanut butter chips.
Combine 1/2 cup of dark baking cocoa, 1 cup of cake flour, 1 1/3 cup of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt by sifting them into a large bowl.
Next, cream together the chilled butter with 1 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. You want this mixture to get light and creamy, so a stand mixer is the easiest option, but this can also be done with an electric hand mixer. This will take 3-4 minutes at medium to medium high speed.
Add the dry ingredients 1/3 at a time and mix until all of the ingredients are fully combined.
Add 1 1/4 cup of peanut butter chips into the cookie dough and mix until they are evenly distributed. Set the remaining 1/4 cup of peanut butter chips aside. They will be added to the tops of each freshly baked cookie for one final special touch.
The dough is super thick and dark and gorgeous. Once the chips are mixed in, form the dough into balls and place them all onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Place them close together, so they all fit onto one sheet.
You can make the cookies average sized (about 2 tablespoons) or you can make then big (about 1/4 cup) or you can make them HUGE (dividing the dough into 8 equal portions). I chose option one and was able to form 20 cookies out of this amount of dough.
Once all of the dough balls have been formed, let them chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before baking.
Once they are chilled, transfer some of them onto a baking sheet, leaving at least 2 inches between them. If you have the space to bake all of the cookies in one round, great, but if not, leave the dough in the refrigerator until it is ready to be baked.
Bake in a 400 degree oven on a center rack for about 9 minutes. The cookies are done when their edges are set, but the center is still a little soft. Transfer the baking sheet onto a heat proof surface and let the cookies rest for 10 minutes before transferring them onto a cooling rack. They will continue to set as they cool.
As soon as you pull them out of the oven, place a few extra peanut butter chips over their tops. I love the way they look and if you do it while the cookies are still really hot, they will melt a bit and become one with the cookies…
The texture of these cookies is so wonderful. They are thick and puffy, but not too dense and not one bit dry. The chocolate flavor is bold, but the peanut butter holds it own. I literally had to hide these in order to prevent my husband from finishing them all in one sitting.
Now that you have baked up a batch of one of the most delicious cookies possible, grab a glass of cold milk and try to limit yourself to two… or three… ok just don’t eat all of them. I know thats a lot to ask, but you need to save some for tomorrow…
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 16 tablespoons butter, cubed, chilled
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup dark baking cocoa
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups peanut butter chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
- Cube 2 sticks of butter and transfer the cubes into a small bowl. Place the cubed butter into the refrigerator to chill while you gather the remaining ingredients
- Combine 1/2 cup of dark baking cocoa, 1 cup of cake flour, 1 1/3 cup of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt by sifting into a large bowl
- In a large bowl with an electric hand mixer or using a stand mixer, cream together 1 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and the chilled butter until it is light and creamy (3-4 minutes)
- Add 2 eggs and continue mixing until they are fully incorporated
- Add the dry ingredients 1/3 at a time and mix until combined
- Add 1 1/4 cups of peanut butter chips into the dough and mix until evenly distributed
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Form dough into balls (from 2 tablespoon to 1/4 cup in size) and place them onto the parchment lined sheet
- Once all of the dough has been shaped, chill the dough in the refrigerator for 10 minutes
- Spread the chilled dough balls out onto parchment lined baking sheets leaving at least 2 inches between them
- Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the edges are set and the centers are still a bit soft
- Transfer the cookies still on the baking sheet onto a cooling rack to cool for 10 minutes before transferring them directly onto the cooling rack
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature
* This recipe was developed by Modern Honey and it is fabulous!
