Day 18: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Remember how my mom had asked me to bake something for my neighbors, but my original try was below my standards? Well, I still had to bake something.

So what's better than combining two classics?

It's not complicated, it's not too usual, and they probably haven't eaten enough of this certain type of cookie to have a favorite recipe to compare to the ones I'm bringing them.

Yup, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies seemed to be the best solution.

I used this recipe found on yummyhealthyeasy.com. You should know the drill by now: quick read, so ya bettuh go read it.

The Ingredients

I actually didn't add any salt, since we're already using peanut butter. 1/8 of a teaspoon isn't much more, so it can definitely be left out.

I didn't use reduced-fat peanut butter, because we ain't got dat fancy-schmancy stuff up in this hizzle.

I cut the amount of chocolate chips to 1 ½ cups; we'll talk about this later.

Now, if you actually read the recipe, and looked at the ingredients, you'll notice this recipe isn't actually really healthy. The only really healthy switch is the whole wheat flour, and the reduced-fat peanut butter, if you actually had and used either. So don't even try to lie to yourself and say that these are a healthy treat. Cuz they ain't.

The Process

The most time consuming part of this recipe is probably scooping out and measuring the peanut butter. This sticky, gooey, yummy ingredient is a pain to deal with.

Honestly, if you're using an electric mixer, you really don't need to mix the flour and baking soda together in a separate bowl. Save that dish to wash another day.

At this point, I tasted the dough (as I always do). It was really sweet. That's why I decided to cut down the chocolate chips to 1 ½ cups; I didn't want my neighbors' kids completely bouncing off the walls after they ate these. 1 ½ cups was still a decent amount.

I mixed in the chocolate chips using a wooden spoon, knowing that using my hands would be a sticky mess. If you want to more evenly distribute the chips, do that after it's been refrigerated, either with your hands before you begin placing the dough on the cookie sheets, or as you place it on the cookie sheets.

I refrigerated my dough for 1-2 hours (sorry, can't remember exactly how long!).

Preheat the oven before you retrieve the dough from the refrigerator.

You don't need to grease your baking sheets (yay!).

To place the dough on the cookie sheets, I rolled it into a ball between the palm of my hands, then slightly flattened it before placing it on the cookie sheet. You really do need to place them about 2" apart; they'll expand quite a bit.

I baked mine for closer to 14 minutes. This is because, personally, I like crunchier cookies. After this amount of time, the cookies become a little crispier - not hard, just slightly crispy, though still pretty soft in the middle. Seriously good.

If you like your cookies a bit softer, try baking for only 10 minutes.

If you like them super crunchy, try baking for possibly 16 or 17 minutes.

Let the cookies cool for a good 5 minutes; if you try to transfer them before, they'll crumble and fall apart. If you wait until they're touchable (doesn't take too long, promise!), you can even transfer them just using your hands.

The Final Product

Some Notes

These cookies are really sweet.

With 1 ½ cups chocolate chips, they aren't in every single bite, but they aren't super sparse. If you'd rather the focus of the cookie be on the peanut butter base, I'd suggest this amount.

I produced exactly 4 dozen cookies. Weird. Probably the first time I've ever produced the exact number as expected when baking cookies.

Along this line, 4 dozen is a lot of cookies. This recipe could easily be cut in half for a smaller yield.

If I Could Do It Again....

I'd just use 1 ½ cups of brown sugar, and up the amount of chocolate chip cookies, though maybe not all the way to 2 cups. I like the fact that the chocolate chips don't overwhelm the peanut butter cookie.

The Final Verdict

These cookies are really really sweet, in this evilly delicious, I-can't-stop-eating-them kind of way. For those of you with sweet tooths, this'll be a home run recipe. For those of you more similar to me, you might be wary of the sugar, because even though they're sweet, you'll still eat too many and get a stomach ache (trust me).

Also, the texture of this cookie is a little bit too perfect. The amount of time you cook it can change it from soft to crispy. I wish every cookie acted this way! This does mean you'll have to keep an eye on the timer to make sure you get the cookie you want, because the difference occurs in only a few minutes.

So yes, definitely will be making these again.
Actually maybe not because I will eat them all by myself.
Man I am glad I'm giving these away or else I'd gain 10 pounds in two days.