Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Recipe

I hope all this peanut butter and chocolate chunk hype has gotten you excited for...

...the recipe! (This photo and more at CHOW).

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies/Donna Cookies/ Pants on the Ground Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour (sift before measuring)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt (a pinch more if using coarse salt)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 cup Skippy smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (you could use dark or light. I use light because I like the “lighter” taste. If you like a darker, more molasses taste, try dark brown sugar).
• 12-16oz Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chunks
  

*Have all ingredients at room temperature

Sift Together: flour, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside. Beat (in a mixer or large bowl). Slowly beat in the sugars and mix for about two minutes until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla. Mix until combined. Add in the peanut butter and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined, but don't over-mix it. Stir in the Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chunks (or whatever chocolate you want, or nothing at all, let the peanut butter cookie go naked!)

They will likely be too sticky to form into balls, so stick the dough in fridge for at least 45 minutes. Refrigerating dough actually brings out and improves the flavor of the cookie (more on this in another blog).

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Once the dough is solid enough to handle, roll into golfball-size balls. If you leave the cookies plain, you can roll into balls and with a fork press down gently on the dough, making a cross hatch pattern. Otherwise roll into a ball and pat gently to a disc, this way they come out nice and thick.

Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for a couple of minutes then transfer to a cooling rack...or your mouth.

Photo by SF Food Wars crew member, Bryan Haggerty