Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies (Bakery Style)
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If you love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, these cookies are basically impossible to resist! They have soft, chewy centers, slightly crisp edges, and plenty of peanut butter chips in every bite.
I love making these bakery-style cookies when I want something that feels a little extra. They’re big, chocolatey, and completely over-the-top in the best way.
But the best part? You don’t need any fancy ingredients or complicated techniques to make them. Just scoop, bake, and get ready for everyone to ask when they can have another one!
Craving more chocolate + peanut butter? Try my Chocolate Peanut Butter Blossoms, Chocolate Dipped Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, or Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies (Levain Copycat).
If you’ve ever been to Levain Bakery in New York, you know the cookie. Giant, thick, gooey on the inside, and loaded with chocolate chips.
This cookie recipe is inspired by Levain’s iconic Black and White Chocolate Chip Cookie, but made simple enough to bake right at home and with a peanut butter twist🥜. You’ll get that same soft, bakery-style center with crisp edges and a decadent mix of chocolates in every bite.
Looking to try more bakery-style cookies at home? Try my:
🍪Black and White Chocolate Chip Cookies (Levain Copycat)
🍪Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies (Levain Copycat)
🍪Kroll’s Kookies (Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies)
🍪Best Ever Giant Funfetti Cookies
🍪Bakery Style Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Table Talk with Tawnie
If you love my Black and White Chocolate Chip Cookies (Levain Copycat) cookies, I know you’ll love this recipe too. A reader recently was asking for this specific recipe with the peanut butter chips and I knew I had to work on it immediately. You just can’t beat that melty peanut butter and the rich chocolate combo! Chocolate peanut butter lovers … you’ll be VERY happy with this one! 🙂
- All-purpose flour: As always, it’s essential to make sure you’re using the spoon and level method to measure your flour when baking (you can also use a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients).
- Cornstarch: Seems weird to add cornstarch to cookies, right? But cornstarch is key for giving these cookies that delectably soft center. It also helps to keep the cookies thick and GIANT!
- Unsalted butter: Make sure to use cold, unsalted butter in this recipe. Not melted, frozen, or room temperature. Use cold butter straight from the fridge. The cold butter method gives thes Levain-style cookies their signature thick, gooey center. To keep the butter cold, I like to get all of my ingredients ready to go, and then once it’s time to start the mixer, I take the butter out and cube it up.
- Extra-dark cocoa powder: Make sure to use extra dark cocoa for that rich chocolate flavor. I like this one from Amazon. Also, if your cocoa powder is clumpy make sure to sift it before adding with the rest of the dry ingredients.
- Peanut butter chips: You’ll need an 11oz bag for the cookies, plus more for garnishing!
Step by Step Directions
(For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card below)
Mix wet ingredients
In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed for 3-4 minutes. Then add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix again.
Combine wet & dry ingredients
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix!
Add peanut butter chips
Fold in the peanut butter chips.
Grab a big mound of cookie dough and place it on the cookie sheet. I like to almost pinch the dough with my fingertips to give the cookies a rustic bakery-style look.
Bake & enjoy!
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cookies cool, then ENJOY!
Expert Tips
- Keep butter cold: To keep the butter cold, I like to get all of my ingredients ready to go, then once it’s time to start the mixer, take the butter out and cube it up. You can also cube your butter beforehand, then place it back in the fridge until you’re ready to add your mixer.
- Properly cream the butter and sugar: Beat the butter and sugars together until light, pale, and fluffy, usually about 3–4 minutes. This step helps create the thick, soft texture you want in these bakery-style cookies, so don’t rush it! For step-by-step photos and tips, check out my post on How to Cream Butter and Sugar.
- Don’t over-mix: Be careful not to over-mix. Mix the wet and dry ingredients just until no flour streaks remain, then gently fold in the peanut butter chips.
- Double up the cookie sheets: Optional, but it works! Double panning is a tip to slow the heat to the bottom of the cookie. To do so, simply flip a cookie sheet upside down. Then, place another cookie sheet on top of it (so the bottoms are touching). Place your cookies on top of the top sheet and bake your cookies!
- Do not over-bake: The cookies will continue to cook on the hot baking sheets once you pull them out of the oven and let them cool for 10-15 minutes. Be sure not to over-bake these cookies in order to achieve super gooey and soft centers.
- Make each cookie GIANT: Using a food scale is helpful for measuring out 5-6oz. of cookie dough. I like to almost pinch the dough with my fingertips to give the cookies a rustic bakery-style look. Do not flatten them or use a cookie scoop to scoop out onto your cookie sheet. If you want to make the cookies smaller, that’s fine too. Just remember to adjust baking time as needed.
- Circular cookies: If any of the cookies look a little wonky after baking, take the back of a spoon and gently press the cookie dough back into a circular shape right when they come out of the oven. However, they shouldn’t overly spread, so you shouldn’t need to shape them up too much.
Variations / Substitutions
- Chocolate chips: Feel free to throw in some chocolate chips or chocolate chunks to really amp up the chocolate factor!🍫
- Nuts: Throw in some pecans or walnuts for an extra crunchy texture!
- Smaller cookies: You can make these cookies smaller if you prefer a more regular-sized cookie. Just be sure to adjust the baking time as needed.
- Gluten-free: Swap the all-purpose flour for Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.
Storage / Freezing
- To store: Store these cookies in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Freeze baked cookies: Let cookies cool completely. Then freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
- Freeze cookie dough: To freeze the cookie dough, form the dough into mounds and freeze in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 2 months. You can bake the cookie dough straight from the freezer; just add an extra minute or so to your bake time. Ovens may vary.
FAQs
Yes, you can use a hand mixer on low speed if you do not have a stand mixer. If the mixture seems crumbly, just keep mixing until it’s smooth.
No, one of the best parts about this bakery style cookie recipe is that you don’t need to chill the cookie dough. Just mix and bake!
What’s the difference in regular and dark cocoa powder?
Using extra-dark cocoa powder is what gives these cookies that dark, rich flavor. If you use regular cocoa powder, the cookies won’t look the same, and the chocolate flavor will be much milder. I highly recommend using dark cocoa powder for these cookies for the best results!
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Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (cold and cut into cubes)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar (packed )
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 2⅔ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1/2 cup extra dark cocoa powder (sifted if clumpy)
- 2 tsp. cornstarch
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 3/4 tsp. fine salt
- 1 (11 oz.) bag peanut butter chips (plus more for garnish)
- Maldon flaky sea salt (for finishing)
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugars: Add the cubed butter, dark brown sugar, and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium speed until combined and creamy, about 3-4 minutes Start Timer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup dark brown sugar, 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- Add the wet ingredients: Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.2 large eggs, 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- Add the dry ingredients: Add the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low just until the flour is incorporated. Be careful not to overmix.2⅔ cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup extra dark cocoa powder, 2 tsp. cornstarch, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. baking powder, 3/4 tsp. fine salt
- Add the peanut butter chips: Fold in the peanut butter chips until evenly distributed throughout the dough.1 (11 oz.) bag peanut butter chips
- Shape: Portion the cookie dough into large balls, about 5-6 oz. each (you should get ~10 cookies). Keep the cookie dough balls tall rather than perfectly round to help create thick bakery-style cookies. I pinch the dough with my fingertips to give them a rustic look with the bumps on top.
- Bake: Place 5 cookies on each prepared baking sheet, leaving plenty of space between them. Bake for 10-12 minutes Start Timer, or until the edges are set but the centers still look slightly underbaked. I always underbake them because they will continue to set up on the cookie sheet once you remove them from the oven.
- Cool: (Tip: right after baking, if any cookies look wonky, just take the back of a spoon and gently press the cookie dough back into a circular shape. But they shouldn’t overly spread.) Immediately after removing from the oven, press a few more peanut butter chips into the tops for that bakery-style look. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.Maldon flaky sea salt
Notes
- 🖤Extra dark cocoa powder: Use extra dark cocoa for that bold, rich flavor.
- 🧈Cold butter: The cold butter method gives Levain-style cookies their signature thick, gooey center.
- 🧊Freeze: These freeze beautifully! Store baked cookies up to 2 months in an airtight container.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is automatically calculated. It should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner can’t make any guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
📸 Photography by Angelica Oles
