Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are hands down the best peanut butter cookies I've ever had.

It's no surprise they come from the Baked cookbook. Have I raved enough about this cookbook yet? These guys are seriously geniuses. Everything I've made from the book is brilliant!

The way these cookies are described in the book is as follows: "neither too dry and crumbly, nor too moist and characterless; rather it is the perfect balance of crispy and chewy". I think that pretty much says it all.

The chocolate chips are the perfect compliment to the peanut butter cookie. The recipe calls for using milk chocolate chips and warns against using semisweet chocolate because that would taste bitter against the peanut butter. I'll take their word for it.

For once, I did not change a thing about this recipe. The recipe requires chilling the dough for at least 3 hours. I chilled mine over night. The cookies were amazing the same day, but I thought they were INCREDIBLE the next day.

Recipe: from Baked (go buy this book!!!!)
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 ounces good quality milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat teh butter and sugar together until fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. The mixture will look light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and peanut butter until just incorporated.
3. Add half of the flour mixture and mix for 15 seconds. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.
   
4. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
   
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
   
6. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheets, at least 2 inches apart. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with granulated sugar and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until the tops of the cookies just begin to brown. Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely.