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These Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies are thick, soft and gooey Levain-style cookies loaded with peanut butter chips and rich chocolate flavor.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
I love visiting my daughter in New York City, and every time I go we make a point of exploring new bakeries and restaurants. But there is one place I visit every single trip—Levain Bakery. There’s almost always a line, and it’s always worth the wait!
If you’ve ever had Levain’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookie, you know it’s a chocolate and peanut butter lover’s dream. It’s thick and rich, with a soft, gooey center and plenty of peanut butter chips in every bite. After my first one, I knew I needed to figure out how to recreate it at home.
Levain cookies are famous for being BIG, but my version is a little more manageable. I make each cookie with about 1/3 cup of dough, so you still get that oversized, bakery-style cookie with a thick, gooey center—just not quite “I’m on vacation in New York City” big!
Ingredients Needed
- Flour, all purpose flour and bread flour
- Sugar, granulated sugar and brown sugar
- Butter, salted
- Eggs
- Cocoa Powder
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt
- Peanut Butter Chips
How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
- Cream butter and sugars together in a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or use an electric hand mixer.
- Add in vanilla and eggs and mix to combine.
- Sift cocoa powder in then add in flours and salt.
- Mix until combined.
- Add in peanut butter chips and stir to incorporate.
- Place dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and pat into a ball.
- Wrap dough and refrigerate to chill for several hours or overnight.
- Cut the chilled dough into 1/3 cup size pieces.
- Form cookie dough into slightly flattened ball and place on a parchment covered cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 16 – 18 minutes. Cookies may seem underbaked in the middle, but they will set up as they cool.
- Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool.
Tips from leigh Anne
- Keep them big. The size of the cookie is part of what gives a Levain-style cookie its signature texture. I use about 1/3 cup of dough for each cookie. The larger size allows the outside to bake while the center stays thick, soft and gooey.
- Don’t flatten the dough. Shape the dough into tall, thick balls and place them on the baking sheet without pressing them down. This helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much.
- Don’t overbake. This is the secret to that soft, gooey center! The cookies may look slightly underdone in the middle when you remove them from the oven, but they will continue to set up as they cool.
- Use a light-colored baking sheet. A dark baking sheet can cause the bottoms of the cookies to brown too quickly. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup and even baking.
- Give them plenty of room. These are big cookies, so leave several inches between each ball of dough to allow for spreading.
- Use good quality cocoa. Since chocolate is such a big part of the flavor, a good quality dutch process cocoa powder makes a difference and gives the cookies a rich, deep chocolate flavor.
- Add a few extra peanut butter chips. Before baking, press a few extra peanut butter chips into the top of each ball of dough. It makes the finished cookies look even more like they came from a bakery.
- Let them cool on the baking sheet. Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for several minutes after they come out of the oven. This allows the centers to set while staying wonderfully soft and gooey.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make the cookies smaller?
Yes, but you won’t get quite the same thick, gooey Levain-style center. If you make the cookies smaller, be sure to reduce the baking time and watch them carefully so they don’t overbake.
Can I freeze the cookie dough?
Yes! Shape the dough into individual cookie dough balls and freeze them on a baking sheet until firm. Transfer them to a freezer-safe container or zippered freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. You can thaw them in the fridge before baking.
How should I store chocolate peanut butter chip cookies?
Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. For that fresh-from-the-oven texture, warm one in the microwave for a few seconds before eating.
Can I freeze the baked cookies?
Absolutely. Once the cookies are completely cool, place them in an airtight container that is freezer-safe and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow them to thaw at room temperature or warm them briefly in the microwave.
Can I use chocolate chips instead of peanut butter chips?
Yes. You can replace some or all of the peanut butter chips with semi-sweet, milk or dark chocolate chips. Of course, you’ll lose some of that classic chocolate-peanut butter combination, but you’ll still have a delicious, thick chocolate cookie.
If you love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, these Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies are going to be hard to resist. They’re thick, rich and chocolatey with plenty of peanut butter chips and that soft, gooey center that makes Levain-style cookies so irresistible. Best of all, you can enjoy that New York City bakery experience without leaving home—although I’ll still be standing in line at Levain every time I visit!
Check out more of my cookie recipes:
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter plus 2 tbsp
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 pkg. or 2 cups of peanut butter chips
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugars together.
- Add in vanilla and eggs and mix to combine.
- Sift cocoa powder in (cocoa is lumpy and you don’t want lumps) and add in flours and salt.
- Mix together and then add in chips.
- Place dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and pat into a ball, wrap and refrigerate to chill. Several hours to overnight.
- Cut the chilled dough into pieces, about 1/3 cup size each.
- Form dough into a slighly flattened ball and place on parchment covered baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 16 minutes or longer if making cookies bigger (about 18 minutes)
- They may look a little undercooked in the middle which is fine. Remove and let them cool and they will set up.
Tips & Notes:
- Keep them big. The size of the cookie is part of what gives a Levain-style cookie its signature texture. I use about 1/3 cup of dough for each cookie. The larger size allows the outside to bake while the center stays thick, soft and gooey.
- Don’t flatten the dough. Shape the dough into tall, thick balls and place them on the baking sheet without pressing them down. This helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much.
- Don’t overbake. This is the secret to that soft, gooey center! The cookies may look slightly underdone in the middle when you remove them from the oven, but they will continue to set up as they cool.
- Use a light-colored baking sheet. A dark baking sheet can cause the bottoms of the cookies to brown too quickly. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup and even baking.
- Give them plenty of room. These are big cookies, so leave several inches between each ball of dough to allow for spreading.
- Use good quality cocoa. Since chocolate is such a big part of the flavor, a good quality cocoa powder makes a difference and gives the cookies a rich, deep chocolate flavor.
- Add a few extra peanut butter chips. Before baking, press a few extra peanut butter chips into the top of each ball of dough. It makes the finished cookies look even more like they came from a bakery.
- Let them cool on the baking sheet. Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for several minutes after they come out of the oven. This allows the centers to set while staying wonderfully soft and gooey.
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Nutrition Facts:
Stacey K says
Awesome recipe! I made it over the weekend and some friends exclaimed that they were better than Levain! Thank you for sharing!
Carolyn says
Where is the recipe? It doesn’t show in my feed! Would love it!