Remember Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies?

Well, these Soft Chewy Peanut Butter Chip Cookies are a very close relation.  I love peanut butter cookies, but to be honest, I’m not sure I’ve found my “go to” recipe yet for a peanut butter cookie.  That might seem strange based on how many cookies I bake, but for some reason, I don’t bake a lot of peanut butter cookies, so the time put forth on trial and error hasn’t really happened.  I’ve made delicious Triple Peanut Butter Blondies…which is a true favorite and Peanut Butter Cut Out Cookies that are completely amazing, but somehow, the classic peanut butter cookie hasn’t had much of a go in my kitchen.  I don’t think it would be difficult to land on my favorite, I just need to get around to it.  I usually get obsessed with a specific item, like finding the perfect yellow cake for my Tandy Birthday Cake or just the right balance of ingredients for My Favorite Cinnamon Scones because I like getting to the “ultimate” of a recipe.  And even then, I will leave room for tinkering and making it better.  So, while I’m in the throes of seeking perfection on one recipe, everything else gets pushed to the wayside.

Another reason I might not have gone down the rabbit hole with seeking out the ultimate peanut butter cookie recipe could be because these Soft Chewy Peanut Butter Chip cookies are so good.  Unlike a chocolate chip cookie where the chocolate chips accent the cookie batter with a flavor, peanut butter chips seem to make the whole cookie taste like a peanut butter cookie, thus temporarily satisfying a peanut butter cookie craving.

The texture of peanut butter cookie dough is different than the texture of a chocolate chip cookie dough. And, it’s no secret that I like (obsess?) about certain textures in cookies. The texture in Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies is wonderful because the cookies have this crispy outer edge, but are nice and thick and chewy in the center.  That’s the best of both worlds…for a chocolate chip cookie.

But what if we’re talking about peanut butter chip cookies?  Then, I would like the cookie to be softer with less of a crispy edge.  The good news is that a few adjustments to the Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe yields the perfect texture for Soft Chewy Peanut Butter Chip Cookies.  What adjustments?

• I added cornstarch.  This makes for a denser, softer cookie.
• I switched out all purpose flour for bread flour.  Bread flour has higher protein and helps add more chewiness.
• I reduced the white sugar to 1/2 cup.  I like the 1:2 ratio of white sugar to brown sugar and this ratio works well with the other changes I’ve made to get the texture I like.
• I added a bit of baking powder for loft, which I think balances some of the density and chewiness.
• I swapped peanut butter chips for chocolate chips, of course.

That original recipe has inspired some other delicious cookie recipes that I will be posting in the future. And, while my husband has some deep loyalties to the original, he really likes the adjustments I’ve made with this recipe.

The photos I’m posting today are of the cookies I made for holiday trays last month, thus the extra bonus of a chocolate drizzle to dress them up a bit.  The chocolate is delicious on them, of course…peanut butter and chocolate are a classic combo.  But they really need no additional embellishment.

They’re just plain good all on their own.

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