Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies

Thick, chewy, chunky peanut butter cookies are stuffed with peanut butter, chocolate, pretzels, peanuts, toffee, oatmeal and hints of cinnamon spice.

I have but just one question for you before we get started here… Do you like peanut butter? If you answered yes to this question, you have come to the right place. We have the best peanut butter recipes and today we’re talkin’ alllll about that peanut buttery goodness.

I’m going to go out on the limb here and say that these chunky peanut butter cookies are probably my favorite of all the cookie flavors. 

Kitchen Sink Cookies

Truth be told I came up with the recipe for these chunky cookies on a lazy afternoon when I was in desperate need of a serious peanut butter fix, and discovered that I had a whole bunch of random odds and ends of ingredients sitting in my pantry just waiting to thrown into cookie dough: pretzels, toffee, chocolate chips and nuts. So that’s what we did.  These cookies have…you know… “everything but the kitchen sink”.

Why These Are the Best Peanut Butter Cookies:

• incredible, lightly crisp edges
• chewy center
• the perfection of sweet and salty
• hearty oatmeal for great texture
• pretzels for a salty crunch

Do you have to refrigerate cookie dough?

Let’s be real. We’ve all placed a cookie sheet into the oven, only to have the cookie dough run ugly all over the pan. So frustrating. I’ve been there. Refrigeration often helps cookies to not spread. But it also delays getting that sweet craving satisfied!

One reason we love this cookie dough is because you don’t have to refrigerate it in order to get nice looking cookies. However, if you like extra thick cookies, you can refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.

Tips for Making Peanut Butter Cookies:

There are a few key secrets with ingredients and technique you can use when making these cookies (or any cookie for that matter) that will ensure success:

• Use room temperature butter, but not melted butter. Every consistency of butter will produce different results in your cookies. You want room temperature butter that gives just slightly when you touch it. Butter at this temperature would be hard to mix by hand, but works just fine in the stand mixer.
• Use room temperature eggs. Refrigerator cold eggs will cause the butter to harden, so use eggs that are the same temperature as the butter.
• Quick cooking oats work best. Quick oats will absorb the liquids in the cookies best giving the cookies the best texture. If you don’t have quick cook oats, put old fashioned oats through the food processor to make the oats small, then use those.
• Cornstarch. What does cornstarch do in cookies? Just as cornstarch is a thickening agent in gravies and sauces, it can also help a cookie to thicken and hold together well. Cornstarch softens cookies giving them an amazing texture.

• Cream the butter and sugar. And cream it really, really well. An enemy in cookies is little chunks of butter (although they are friends in homemade biscuits and pie dough) because they will run and cause the cookies to not have an even appearance and texture. Cream the ingredients well, and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
• For pretty cookies, add extra ingredients to the top. Most of the cookie add-ins will be inside the dough. For pretty looking cookies, press extra chocolate, pretzel pieces, nuts or toffee in the top.
• Don’t over bake the cookies. If you like soft and chewy cookies, the key is to slightly under bake them. The edges of the cookies should be set and lightly browned, but the centers of the cookies should still look slightly gooey and “wet”.
• Don’t move the cookies too soon! Because you’ll slightly under bake the cookies, allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for at least 5 minutes. If you move them too soon, they’ll fall apart.

Helpful Resources:

• Our best Cookie Making Tools that every baker should have.
• Tips on how to freeze cookies.
• Do your cookies turn out flat? Find out why here.
• Try our spanish peanut cookies next!

Peanut Butter Chunker Cookies

4.64 from 25 votes

Thick, chewy, peanut butter chunker cookies are stuffed with peanut butter, chocolate, pretzels, peanuts, toffee, oatmeal and hints of cinnamon spice.

Servings 30 cookies

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

 

• 1 cup butter (room temperature)
• 2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 ½ cups brown sugar
• ½ cup dark brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
• 2 large eggs (room temperature)
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup quick cook oats
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chunks
• 1/2 cup toffee bits
• 1 cup pretzel pieces
• 1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts

Instructions

 

• Preheat your oven to 350º Fahrenheit and line a couple cookie pans with parchment paper.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add in the brown sugars and beat until pale and fluffy.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl add the eggs and beat until fluffy. Add in vanilla and beat until combined.
• In a small bowl, whisk together four, oats, baking soda, corn starch, cinnamon and salt. Add in two additions to the wet ingredients, beating on low speed until completely combined. The batter may seem a bit soft, but don't worry – this is what you want.
• Add in the chocolate chunks, pretzel pieces, roasted peanuts and toffee bits; mix on low until evenly distributed.
• Using a cookie scoop or two teaspoons, scoop your batter out into about 1 tablespoon portions out onto your baking sheets leaving at least 1.5 to 2 inches between each cookie. I usually put no more than 12 onto a large tray.
• Bake for 10 until the edges are golden brown. Do not overbake the cookies in order to have the softest, chewiest cookies.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least five minutes on the pan, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Store in an airtight container.

Notes

The calories shown are based on the recipe making 30 cookies, with 1 serving being 1 cookie. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**

1. If you don’t have quick cook oats, put old fashioned oats through the food processor to make the oats small, then use those.
2. If you like extra thick cookies, refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking.

Nutrition

Calories: 265kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 218mg | Potassium: 136mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 255IU | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg

Author Julie Clark

Course Cookies

Cuisine American

Calories 265

Keyword bake sale recipes, dessert, easy cookies

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