Author Notes: I created these cookies one day when I was in serious need of chocolate, peanut butter, and salt. (Ladies, you know what I mean.) I definitely recommend using coarse sea salt on the cookies because it looks pretty and provides a punch of saltiness to contrast with the rich chocolate. – Food Blogga —Food Blogga
Food52 Review: This is the ultimate peanut butter cookie for chocolate lovers. The texture is reminiscent of the peanut butter cookie we all grew up on but with every detail refined — the base is made with cocoa and you stir unsalted peanuts and semi-sweet chocolate chips (just the right amount of each so it’s not overkill) and sprinkle coarse sea salt (we like Maldon) on top. As Food Blogga notes, don’t use all-natural peanut butter or you won’t get the same crumbly texture. We used Skippy. – A&M —The Editors
Serves: about 3 1/2 dozen
Ingredients
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1 1/4
cups all-purpose flour
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1/2
cup cocoa powder
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1/2
teaspoon baking soda
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1
teaspoon baking powder
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1/2
teaspoon salt
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1/2
cup butter, room temperature
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1
cup sugar
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2
large eggs
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2
teaspoons pure vanilla extract
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3/4
cup creamy peanut butter (not all natural)
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1/2
cup unsalted peanuts
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1
cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
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coarse sea salt for sprinkling cookies
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with an an electric mixer on medium-high speed. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in peanut butter until just combined. Beat in dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in peanuts and chocolate chips.
- Drop 1 heaping tablespoon of cookie dough (I used a cookie scoop, but spoons are just fine) two inches apart (as they will spread). Top each cookie with a few sea salt crystals.
- Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes, until the edges are firm. It’s OK if the centers are a tad soft. They’ll firm up as they cool. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Cool completely before storing in an air-tight container, for up to 5 days.
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Photo by Julia Gartland
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When mixing dry ingredients, a whisk works best.
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Variations on a color theme.
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While the butter and sugar are creamed — we let the mixer go for a long time — we line up the rest of the ingredients.
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We like Nielsen-Massey vanilla extract — a little more expensive but worth it.
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That's the Skippy peanut butter going into the creamed butter.
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The peanut butter makes the mixture beautifully silky.
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How many cooks does it take to tip the dry ingredients into the mixer?
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Sticky!
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Use a nice coarse sea salt, like fleur de sel or Maldon sea salt, for finishing the cookies.
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