Is there any better flavor combination than peanut butter and chocolate? Seriously! Name one that's better! I dare you!

Even though I don't eat as much peanut butter these days (damn you, Whole 30!), every once and a while I get a serious craving for peanut butter and chocolate. What do I do to satisfy that craving? Make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies! (Or one of the Reese's Eggs I store in my freezer after Easter. You know...if I'm in a pinch.)

When these cravings hit...and they hit hard...I don't have time want to take the time to try to come up with my own recipe. So I turn to the wonderful Internet and it's plethora of recipes to find one that a) looks good, and b) doesn't require any ingredients I don't already have on hand. I have tried quite a few and for some reason have been a little disappointed. The recipes I have tried are often WAY too dry. I know peanut butter cookies are often on the drier side, but there's got to be a sweet spot where they are still a bit crunchy, but also not a cracker!

Well, I was determined to figure it out.

After some trial and error, I found that the trick is brown sugar. Brown sugar helps keep the cookies moist so they are a lot softer than your average peanut butter cookie. Brown sugar also reacts with the baking soda so that they rise a little bit more making them more soft and less dense.

My other new trick that I picked up from my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, is a sprinkle of sea salt on top. I think a sprinkle of sea salt should be mandatory on just about all chocolate chip cookies. It takes them to a whole new level!

Recipe

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 2 dozen

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
16 oz (one bag), milk chocolate chips
sea salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, or bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the peanut butter and beat until smooth. Add in eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Mix until combined.
Slowly mix in the flour mixture. Beat only until the flour is barely incorporated. It's okay if there is still flour that hasn't been mixed in. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Drop 1-2 tbsp balls of dough on a baking sheet about 1-2 inches apart. Sprinkle a scant amount of sea salt over top. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown around the edges.

Notes

If time permits, place dough balls on the baking sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes before placing in the oven.