What I love most about this recipe is the texture. A combination of creamy peanut butter, brown sugar, and shortening creates cookies that stay wonderfully soft with chewy centers and lightly crisp edges. They’re the kind of cookies that disappear quickly at bake sales, holiday cookie trays, and after-school snack time.
If you love homemade cookies, be sure to browse my Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes collection, then try my Best Chocolate Chip Cookies, Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Peanut Butter Cookies next.
Before You Begin
✨ Use regular creamy peanut butter. Traditional shelf-stable peanut butter works best in this recipe. Natural peanut butter can separate and may affect the texture of the cookies.
✨ Don’t overmix the dough. Once you add the dry ingredients, mix just until combined. Overmixing can develop too much gluten and make the cookies tougher.
✨ Leave room between cookies. These cookies spread slightly as they bake, so give them a few inches of space on the baking sheet.
✨ Pull them a little early. The centers should still look slightly soft when you remove them from the oven. They’ll finish setting as they cool, giving you that perfect chewy texture.
✨ Food Safety Tip: Bake cookies until the edges are set and the centers are no longer glossy or wet. Because this dough contains raw egg and flour, avoid tasting unbaked cookie dough.
✨ Use a combination of mini and regular chocolate chips. The mini chips distribute throughout the dough while the larger chips create melty pockets of chocolate in every bite.
Ingredients + Key Notes
Creamy peanut butter: Adds rich peanut butter flavor and helps create the soft, chewy texture that makes these cookies so irresistible. Use a traditional shelf-stable peanut butter for the most consistent results.
Butter-flavored shortening: One of the secrets to these cookies’ texture. Shortening helps the cookies stay thick and soft while creating wonderfully chewy centers.
Brown sugar: Adds moisture, sweetness, and a subtle caramel flavor that pairs perfectly with peanut butter and chocolate.
Egg: Binds the dough together and contributes to the cookies’ tender texture.
Milk: A small amount helps create a softer dough and keeps the finished cookies moist.
Vanilla extract: Enhances both the peanut butter and chocolate flavors.
All-purpose flour: Provides structure while still allowing the cookies to stay soft and tender.
Baking soda: Gives the cookies just enough lift while helping them spread properly.
Salt: Balances the sweetness and enhances the peanut butter flavor.
Mini semisweet chocolate chips: Distribute throughout the dough so you get chocolate in every bite.
Semisweet chocolate chips: Create larger pockets of melted chocolate and give the cookies a bakery-style appearance.
🥣 How to Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Start by creaming together the peanut butter, shortening, and brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla, then mix until everything is well combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture, mixing just until combined. Stir in both the mini chocolate chips and regular semisweet chocolate chips, being careful not to overmix the dough.
Using a slightly overfilled medium cookie scoop, portion the dough onto ungreased baking sheets. Gently flatten each dough ball with your hand or the bottom of a glass. If you like the traditional look of peanut butter cookies, you can add a crosshatch pattern, though it’s completely optional.
Bake until the edges are set and the centers still look slightly soft. The cookies will continue cooking from the residual heat as they cool, which helps create their soft, chewy texture.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 15 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Storing, Freezing, and Make-Ahead
Storing: Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. They stay wonderfully soft and chewy, especially during the first few days after baking.
Freezing baked cookies: Once completely cooled, transfer the cookies to a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Freezing cookie dough: Scoop the dough into portions and place them on a baking sheet. Freeze until firm, then transfer the dough balls to a freezer-safe container or bag. Bake directly from frozen, adding 1-2 extra minutes to the baking time.
Make-ahead option: The cookie dough can be prepared and refrigerated for up to 2 days before baking. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes if it becomes too firm to scoop easily.
Refreshing leftovers: If you’d like that fresh-from-the-oven texture, warm a cookie in the microwave for about 8-10 seconds to soften the chocolate chips and make the cookie extra chewy.
Frequently Asked Questions
♦ Can I use butter instead of shortening?
Yes, but the texture will be different. Shortening helps create thicker, softer cookies with chewy centers. If you substitute butter, the cookies will spread more and have a slightly crispier texture.
♦ Why are my peanut butter chocolate chip cookies dry?
Dry cookies are usually caused by adding too much flour or baking too long. For the softest cookies, measure the flour carefully and remove the cookies from the oven when the centers still look slightly soft.
♦ What kind of peanut butter works best?
Traditional creamy peanut butter, such as Jif or Skippy, works best in this recipe. Natural peanut butter can separate and may affect the texture of the dough.
♦ Can I freeze peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough?
Absolutely! Scoop the dough into portions and freeze on a baking sheet until firm. Transfer the frozen dough balls to a freezer-safe container and bake straight from frozen, adding an extra minute or two to the baking time.
♦ Why didn’t my cookies spread?
This usually happens when too much flour is added or the dough is packed too tightly. Gently flattening the dough before baking helps ensure the cookies spread properly.
Still have questions? Drop them in the comments — I love helping you cook with confidence! 💗
More Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies — Soft and chewy cookies packed with peanut butter, oats, and plenty of chocolate chips.
Monster Cookies — Thick, chewy cookies loaded with peanut butter, oats, chocolate chips, and colorful candies.
Kitchen Sink Cookies — A sweet-and-salty cookie packed with chocolate chips and plenty of fun mix-ins.
Chocolate Chip Cookies Marshmallows Cookies — Soft cookies filled with gooey marshmallows and melty chocolate chips for an extra indulgent treat.
Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies — A fun twist on classic chocolate chip cookies loaded with crushed Oreo cookies in every bite.
Tried This Recipe?
I’d love to hear how these peanut butter chocolate chip cookies turned out! Please leave a rating and comment below and let me know if they became a favorite in your house too.
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Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today — happy baking, friends! ❤️ Kathleen
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- In a medium mixing bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer, cream peanut butter, shortening, and brown sugar.
- Add egg and beat until combined. Mix in milk and vanilla.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to the peanut butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and mini chocolate chips.
- Scoop the dough with a medium cookie scoop, slightly overfilled, and arrange on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten balls slightly with your hand or the bottom of a glass. Crosshatch if desired. (I don't with these cookies)
- Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until center of cookies appear just slightly wet, and edges are set. The cookies will continue cooking and set as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 15 minutes, then remove to wire baking rack to cool completely.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Overmixing - To achieve results like chewy and moist Nestle peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, be sure not to over-mix. This develops too much gluten in the dough and makes your cookies tough.
- As you add the dry ingredients, stop mixing when there are a few streaks of flour still running through the dough. Add the chips and finish mixing.
Nutrition
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Source: My Sister Chrissy ♥
Thanks for the recipe! They turned out great! I was low on chocolate chips, but they still tasted amazing! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much, McKell!
Made with unsalted butter – they were still thick and chewy as long as not cooked too long . Perfect this will be a new go to recipe !!! Love
So happy to hear you liked it, Amanda! 😀
Can you use regular shortening instead of butter flavored shortening or will it change the taste?
Hi Melanie, yes you can. The butter flavor does add more butter flavor in the cookie though.
So good. I substituted the butter flavored shortening for just regular butter. They were fluffy, chewy and amazing.
Woot! Thanks, Audrey! ? So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Hi, would it be ok to use butter instead of shorting please ?
Hey Juli. Yes, you can. Honestly, though it will totally change the texture of the cookies. They will be thinner, crisper, and the won’t be as chewy. The butter will give them a really great flavor though. Hope that helps <3
Thank you, is shorting what we call lard, is it a white block of fat (uk ) please
I subbed butter for shortening and the cookies were still fluffy and chewy! Not sure, maybe you baked them too long when you experimented with the butter or maybe that was just an inaccurate educated guess you made. Either way, butter was a great substitution!
LOVE theses cookies ?
Thanks so much, AJ! We adore these amazing cookies <3