I love peanut butter and chocolate, as shown through my various dessert combos containing these two ingredients: Healthy Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bars, Peanut Butter Banana Cups, Chocolate Chip Banana Bread and Chocolate Dipped Frozen Banana Bites. This is my first cookie recipe to include both of these beloved ingredients! I found this cookie recipe off of Pinterest from Averie Cooks and LOVED how it turned out. I even had one friend tell me it was the best cookie she has ever eaten! No one who tried it could tell it was gluten-free or dairy-free.

The original recipe calls for brown sugar, which I didn’t have at home, so I made my own version using slightly less than 1 cup of brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup.

Here’s how I made these delicious cookies:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed (or sub
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (I used 2 teaspoons of baking powder as a substitute)
• 6 ounces semi-sweet, dark, or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips as a substitute). If you want to make this recipe vegan or dairy free, make sure to use vegan chocolate!

Instructions:

1. 1. To the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine peanut butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well-combined and the sugar is fully incorporated and is mixture is no longer gritty or granular. Stop to scrape down the bowl as necessary.
   2. Add the baking powder (or soda) and beat to incorporate.
   3. Add the chocolate and beat to just incorporate; don’t over mix or the nice chocolate will break down.
   4. Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form two-tablespoon mounds. If chocolate is falling out of dough since there is an abundance, roll ball between palms to encourage it to stay in the dough. Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. If you bake with warm dough cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter. *Note, I made heart shaped cookies using heart shaped cookie cutters for mothers day, and this also worked nicely, as shown in the pictures attached.
   5. Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a baking mat or spray with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet) and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges are set and tops are barely set, even if slightly underbaked in the center. Watch them very closely after 7 minutes and I recommend not baking longer than 10 minutes. Cookies firm up as they cool, and baking too long results in cookies that become too crisp and hard.
   6. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 to 10 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling. Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

NUTRITION INFORMATION from (Averie Cooks)

Nutrition analysis per serving (16 servings)

Calories 199, Total Fat 11g, Saturated Fat 4g, Trans Fat 0g, Total Carbohydrates 21g, Fiber 1g, Sugar 17g, Protein 5g, Sodium 171mg

Cookie dough before baking

After baking