Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
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These are the biggest, thickest Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies you’ll ever make! My recipe is simple and loaded with chunks of melty chocolate in every bite. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Big Peanut Butter Cookies
If you’re looking for a light and pretty (and peanut-buttery) cookie recipe, head over to my peanut butter crinkle cookies, because my peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies are nothing of the sort. No, these are big, thick, heavy cookies. They are the epitome of bakery-style: larger than life, chock full of melty chocolate, and heavy.
Despite their thickness, these are not cakey cookies; they are soft, dense, and chewy, like a cookie should be. They have a strong peanut butter flavor (similar to my peanut butter blossoms) that pairs nicely with the melty chocolate chunks and bits throughout. And seriously, these have some heft to them–they don’t mess around!
I think you’ll love this recipe not only for the cookies themselves, but also the ease of preparing them. Just a handful of ingredients are mixed together and chilled for 30 minutes before baking. You will need to have some patience with them while they’re still warm (they are fragile in this state!), but once they’ve had some time to set up, you won’t be able to stop eating them.
What You Need
Here are the key ingredients in my peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies:
- Peanut butter. Either creamy or chunky peanut butter will work here. Just make sure you don’t use a “natural” peanut butter that separates.
- Baking soda. Just a bit of baking soda encourages these cookies to spread slightly while still maintaining their thickness.
- Egg + egg yolk. The extra yolk adds moisture, tenderness, and contributes to the density of these peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies. Adding a whole egg here could lead to cakey cookies that spread–and we don’t want that!
- Chocolate. I use semisweet chocolate, but you can use whatever kind you like (milk chocolate also works nicely with peanut butter!). I prefer to buy chocolate bars and chop them myself for the best chunks. Pre-cut chunks (sold near chocolate chips) will also work though!
SAM’S TIP: Make sure you measure your flour properly, or you could be left with a dry, crumbly cookie dough.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Them
- Beat the butters and sugars – Cream together the butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs – Stir in the eggs and vanilla.
- Stir in the dry ingredients – Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the wet ingredients.
- Chocolate and chill – Stir in the chopped chocolate until incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
- Scoop and roll – Roll large scoops of dough (I use an ice cream scoop!) between your palms before placing on a parchment lined baking sheet at least 2″ apart.
- Bake – Bake at 350F for 13-15 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet.
SAM’S TIP: Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet, otherwise they’ll just fall apart on you while warm (don’t over-bake them though, or they’ll be dry and crumbly).
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! I have detailed instructions on how to do this in my how freeze cookie dough post. Just follow the instructions listed there for drop cookies.
It could be that you added too much flour, but the more likely reason is that your cookies were over-baked. Make sure you take them out of the oven when the edges are just beginning to turn golden brown and let them finish cooking on their baking sheets. This is my favorite baking technique for soft and chewy cookies and applies to many cookie recipes (I use it in both my best chocolate chip cookie recipe and my brown butter chocolate chip cookies.
Cornstarch helps cookies stay soft and thick without becoming cakey. It is one of my favorite ingredients to add to baked goods; you’ll also find it in my cinnamon coffee cake and blueberry muffin recipe for a soft and tender crumb.
Related Recipes
If you’re looking for a classic version, see my soft & buttery (and not-so-thick!) peanut butter cookie recipe.
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Big Thick Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (260g) creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, firmly packed
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 egg + 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 8 oz (226 g) chocolate bars, coarsely chopped
- Sea salt for sprinkling on top, optional
Instructions
- Combine butter, peanut butter, and sugars in a large mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (260g) creamy peanut butter, 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir until combined.1 egg + 1 large egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon salt
- With mixer on low-speed, gradually stir dry ingredients into wet until completely combined (be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and no dry spots should be remaining).
- Add chopped chocolate and use a spatula to stir into the cookie dough until well-incorporated.8 oz (226 g) chocolate bars
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. While dough chills, preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Once dough is chilled, remove from refrigerator and scoop into large ⅓-cup sized balls and roll between your palms to make a smooth ball.
- Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing cookies at least 2” apart.
- Transfer to 350F (175C) oven and bake for 13-15 minutes (edges may be just beginning to turn light golden brown). Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet before removing and enjoying.Sea salt for sprinkling on top
Notes
Peanut Butter
You could use crunchy or creamy peanut butter. I recommend using classic peanut butter and not the “natural” sort that separates, as the cookies won’t turn out as shown with natural peanut butter.Chocolate
I like to use semisweet chocolate bars but you can use milk chocolate or your favorite type of chocolate instead.Storing
Cookie dough may be prepared in advance and refrigerated (tightly covered) for up to 5 days. Baked cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Note, this is an updated recipe. If you’re looking for the original, you just make my peanut butter cookies and add chocolate chunks (that’s what the original recipe was).
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I made these exactly as written and see no reason to change anything. I did put walnuts in my second batch only because I love walnuts. But as I said, they are wonderful as the recipe is written. This will go in my recipe folder.
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Janet! 🙂
I have a peanut allergy so I used Wowbutter instead. They turned out great! Thanks for the wonderful recipe! 🙂
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Karen! 🙂
I made this into a pizookie (pizza-sized cookie) and it turned out delicious! 🙂 😀 Thank you so much!
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Hello! I was wondering how long this would have to cook for if all of the dough was used to make a single, giant cookie.
I’m not sure how it would turn out or how long it would need to bake. You would definitely want to do it in a springform pan if you do try it. 🙂
Do these need cornstarch? I don’t have any!
Hi, Sheep! The cornstarch helps break down the harsh proteins of the flour, making for a more tender cookie. You can leave it out, they just won’t be as soft. 🙂
Hello! These cookies have tasted delicious every time me and my sibling would make them, however, we’ve noticed that they don’t really spread out that much and are quite big. Is it the peanut butter that is causing them to not spread or is it something else? 🤔
I am so sorry that has happened. It sounds like there may be too much flour in the cookies. You can check out my guide for how to properly measure flour so this doesn’t happen in the future. 🙂
My son and I just made these – they smell delicious even before baked ! I’m waiting til after dinner to bake them so we don’t ruin dinner cuz I have no will power ! Thanks for the recipe ! Karen
I hope that you and your son had fun making them and that they were the perfect after-dinner treat, Karen! Enjoy! 🙂
Me and my sibling have made these cookies 4 times! They are so delicous! Thank you so much for the recipe! 🙂 😀
Thank you so much for trying my recipe! I am so happy to hear that the cookies have been such a hit. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
These cookies are delicous! Thank you! 🙂 😀
Thank you so much! I hope that you enjoy the cookies! 🙂
You’re welcome! I made them again yesterday! 😉 🙂
I love it! Enjoy! 🙂
Do you really have to use an electric mixer? Can I get away with mixing it by hand?
It depends on how strong you are and how much of an arm workout you want. So long as the butter (it should be softened, but not so soft that it’s melt-y) and sugar get nicely creamed together that’s all that really matters 🙂
I just tried these cookies & I followed the recipe exact. They looked great when they came out of the oven. They just didn’t taste as good as I had hoped. They didn’t have a sweet taste at all & had more of a cake like texture, instead of the chewy cookie texture.
It might be though that I had been eating the cookie that I made from your other recipe (the worst ever cookie) 😁
I think that recipe is so good, that it’s ruined the taste of all the others. 😉
I’m sure it’s a great recipe. I must have done something wrong.
You’ll just have to give them another try when you aren’t making the other cookies. 😉
Thank you so much for this great recipe. They are absolutely delicious. Mine just didn’t spread very much, they stayed quite thick, but the taste is great.
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed the cookies, Nicole! Thank you for commenting 🙂
I made these just the other night and they were absolutely delicious !!! I followed the recipe exactly as it is written and they came out so nice and chewy and incredibly delicious that I am planning to make them again tomorrow !! They stayed so fresh too, although I must admit they didn’t last too long in my house lol !! I’ve tried other recipes like this, but nothing compared ..yours is by far, the BEST. ! Thank u so much for sharing it. I love all your recipes !
I am so glad you enjoyed the cookies, Rosellen! 🙂
These chocolate chip cookies look amazing- the only thing missing from the classic was totally peanut butter, these are spot on! 🙂 Pinning!
Thank you, Medha!
Oh my, these cookies look good! I just wanna grab that stack of cookies!
Thank you, Marsha!!