A two day loss of power combined with hot, humid weather was almost enough to deter me from baking this past week. In spite of being intrigued by a Peanut Butter Cookie recipe shared by one of my running friends, the planned six mile Saturday morning run along with having our first dinner party (in six months!) with friends, had me thinking it might be weeks before these Giant Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies were created. However, my desire to satisfy my sweet tooth as well as surprise my running friends with a post run treat motivated me to concoct a recipe for what would turn out to be one of those drop the mic, seriously delicious, jumbo sized cookies.
There are peanut butter cookies and then there are peanut butter cookies. These Giant Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are in a league of their own. Four inches in diameter with a thickness of about a half of an inch, they are everything a scrumptious, satisfying peanut butter cookie should be and then some. Loaded with chocolate chips and topped with flaky sea salt these are the kind of cookies screaming to be paired with a tall glass of ice cold milk. If you love peanut butter and chocolate, these are the cookies you need, you absolutely must have in your life.
Big enough to share with a friend, nibble on for hours, or just inhale in one sitting, this is my new favorite peanut butter cookie! Heck, it's one of my top three favorite cookies!
There are many things giving this cookie its' almost epic-like status, but there are two things in particular worth noting. The first is the use of dark brown, not light brown sugar. Dark brown sugar brings notes of caramel and molasses to a cookie. Resulting in giving it an incredibly robust flavor. Additionally, dark brown sugar (when it interacts with baking soda) increases the rise on the cookie and deepens the cookie's baked color. If there was ever a cookie where light brown and dark brown sugar were not interchangeable, this would be the one. The second notable thing about this recipe is the amount of (more is better!) and kind of chocolate chips (at least 53% cacao) used. Initially I debated about whether to use larger sized chocolate chips or chop up a bar of my favorite dark chocolate. Having now tasted them with chocolate chips, I will reserve chopping chocolate for my favorite chocolate chip cookies.
Using a large (2 1/2 inches in diameter) cookie scoop helps to create fifteen evenly sized and weighted (about 4 1/2 ounces each) balls of cookie dough. Because the dough is a little on the softer side, they definitely need to be chilled (at least four hours) before going into the oven.
Baking time ranges from 15-17 minute or until golden around the edges and top of the cookie. For a crispier edged cookie, your baking time will skew toward the 17 minute mark. Keeping the cookies on the baking sheet for at least ten minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack helps to crisp up the cookie's exterior even more, yet still keeping their interior slightly soft.
Deeply flavorful, bakery style beautiful, perfectly textured, and seriously satisfying would be how I would describe these Giant Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. What I am trying to say is that you really, really do need these irresistible giant cookies in your life. And sooner rather than later. I definitely hope you will be as enamored with them as I am!
Recipe
Giant Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 15 giant four inch in diameter cookies
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups (325g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (240g) peanut butter (see Notes)
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 cup (200g) dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
20 ounces (567g) semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
Flaky sea salt for finishing
Directions
1. In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and Kosher salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter for approximately one minute.
3. Add in the granulated sugar and dark brown sugar. Beat until light and fluffy (approximately 4-5 minutes).
4. Beat in vanilla.
5. Beat in eggs, one at a time until well blended.
6. Beat in peanut butter.
7. Remove 45 chocolate chips, then mix in the remaining chocolate chips.
8. Add the flour mixture in two additions. Mix until well blended. Do not over beat.
9. Divide dough into 15 equal sized balls (4 1/2 ounces or 127g). Think of them as an oversized golf ball. Place balls of dough on a baking sheet. Press 3 additional chocolate chips into the tops of the cookie balls. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours.
10. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
11. Place 6 balls of dough on a baking sheet. Press cookies down very slightly (just removing the top dome). Lightly sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake one sheet of cookies at a time.
12. Bake 15-17 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for at least 10 minutes. Then remove and transfer to a cooling rack.
13. Pour a big glass of milk and enjoy! Then wrap some up and share with friends!
Notes: (1) Use a creamy peanut butter not a natural peanut butter. I used JIF creamy peanut butter. (2) Using dark brown sugar adds a deep molasses flavor, caramel undertones, a deeper color, and crispness to the cookies. Do not use light brown sugar. (3) I used a 2 1/2 inch in diameter cookie scoop for form the balls of dough.
