I’ve been down for the count for the last couple of days. It’s always inevitable that within the first week or two back to school that someone brings home some kind of bug. I wouldn’t say that I’m a germophobe, but I definitely make everyone wash their hands frequently (especially when they come home from school) and still this one managed to get past me! I don’t usually get sick- knock on wood- but, this time I seemed to be the sole unlucky winner. I’m cool with it tho, I pride myself on being a tough cookie. Speaking of cookies… see what I did there?
So I started feeling better this afternoon and I had planned on making dinner while everyone was at soccer pictures. Todd had offered to pick something up, but I declined, figuring that I’d tough it out. As I was scrolling through Instagram trying to get inspired, I saw a picture of cookies and that was all she wrote. I’ll make cookies and the fam can pick up dinner. To be quite honest, if it were just me this evening, I would have skipped dinner and had just gone with the cookies. 😂
The cookies that I went with for today…. drumroll please…. oh, wait, it’s in the title. Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt. Is there a better food marriage than peanut butter and chocolate? I think not. I didn’t want an overly sweet cookie so I went with dark chocolate for this edition. I did, however, throw in some semi-sweet chocolate chunks because my husband prefers milk chocolate, so I figured that we’d meet in the middle. So use whatever chocolate that you prefer, I’ll leave it in your hands. I will say that the dark chocolate in these is fantastic though.
To make the cookies, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the peanut butter and the unsalted butter until fluffy and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides as you need to. Add brown sugar and beat until well incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat again for about 2 minutes.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and finely-ground coffee or espresso powder (I used Illy). I usually put a smidge of coffee in my peanut butter or chocolate cookies. No, it will not taste like coffee and no one would ever know that it’s in there. But, the coffee flecks look fabulous in the cookies and I think it makes the chocolate in the cookies really stand out.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until fully incorporated. Remove bowl from stand and stir in the chocolate.
I chilled my cookie dough for 20 minutes. I’d recommend doing this, although you don’t have to. Drop the cookie dough onto an ungreased baking sheet, flatten the cookies slightly and sprinkle on the sea salt. I used Maldon Sea Sealt flakes and crushed it slightly between my fingers as I sprinkled it on. I also added an extra chocolate chip or two on top to make the finished product pop.
Bake for 10-12 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies). I made bigger cookies (About 2 TBSP worth of dough) and ended up cooking them 12 minutes. Pull them out as the edges get golden. You definitely want to slightly underbake cookies and let them sit on the hot baking tray to set for 5 minutes when out of the oven.
| Servings |
Large Cookies
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- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, softened
- 1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
- 1 1/2 Cups Packed Brown Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 2 Large Eggs
- 2 1/2 Cups AP Flour
- 1 Tbsp Finely Ground Coffee or Espresso
- 1 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 2 Cups Dark Chocolate Chips
- Maldon Sea Salt Flakes, for topping
Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and the peanut butter until fluffy and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add brown sugar and beat for 1-2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well mixed, scraping down the sides of the bowl when necessary.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, coffee, baking soda and salt.
- Slowly add the dry mix to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Move the bowl from the stand and stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
- Chill the dough for 20 minutes. Not crucial, but recommended. Drop the cookie dough onto an ungreased baking sheet. Flatten the dough slightly and sprinkle with sea salt.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies are golden around the edges. Let them sit on the hot cookie sheet for about 5 minutes to allow the cookies to set.
Welcome to Cupcakes and Sarcasm! My name is Maggie and I am the creator of C & S. I am a wife and mom of two beautiful kiddos. I grew up in Columbus, Ohio and now live in Northeast Ohio with my family. I have been cooking and baking since I was a kid. I decided in 2017 that I wanted to share my passion (and recipes) with all of you! On this site, you’ll find easy and delicious recipes- both savory and sweet. I’ll also sprinkle in some stories of parenting and our adventures along the way.