Description
Deliciously soft and chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies with a perfect balance of rich cocoa and creamy peanut butter, topped with a classic crisscross fork pattern.
Ingredients
Scale
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup shortening or butter flavored shortening
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (scooped and swept, do not pack)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure it’s at the perfect temperature for baking the cookies.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed until the mixture is well blended. Add the egg and beat just until combined.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa, salt, and baking soda.
- Mix Batter: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended, taking care not to overmix.
- Form Cookies: Drop heaping tablespoons of dough, about 2 inches apart, onto ungreased insulated baking sheets. Flatten each cookie slightly with the tines of a fork in a crisscross pattern.
- Bake Cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes or until the cookies are set and just beginning to brown. Avoid overbaking to maintain softness.
- Cool Cookies: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely before serving.
Notes
- You can substitute butter for shortening, although it may affect the texture slightly.
- Measure cocoa carefully by scooping and sweeping to avoid excess that can dry the dough.
- Using a cookie scoop helps maintain uniform cookie size.
- Do not overbake; cookies should be just set and slightly browned for best texture.
- Flattening cookies with a fork also adds the classic peanut butter cookie look.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 130 kcal
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 95 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 14 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg
