Pan-Banging Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredient Notes

• Unsalted Butter: Be sure your butter is room temp so it will cream properly. I like to bring my butter to room temperature by warming in the microwave (straight from the fridge) for about 8-10 seconds. 
• Peanut Butter: I recommend only using thick and creamy peanut butter, like Jif or Skippy.
• Sugars: You'll a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar, as well as some granulated sugar for rolling the cookie dough. 
• Egg: Just one egg!
• All-Purpose Flour: PLEASE weigh your flour with a scale! I provided both weight and volume measurements below, but just like with all cookies there are few ingredients which means there is little room for error. 
• Leavener: You'll need just baking soda for these cookies. 
• Chocolate: Add chopped chocolate to the cookie dough and on top just before baking, or leave it out. Either way, they're so so delicious!

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

STEP 1: Cream. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and peanut butter on medium speed for 2-3 minutes.

STEP 2: Mix. Add the sugars and continue beating for 2-3 more minutes until light & fluffy.

STEP 5: Fold. Lastly, fold in the chopped chocolate with a rubber spatula. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for at least one hour or overnight.

Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and line two baking sheets with aluminum foil or parchment paper.

STEP 6: Scoop. Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough.

STEP 7: Coat. Roll each cookie dough ball in granulated sugar and top with more chopped chocolate.

STEP 8: Bake. Place the cookie dough on the prepared baking sheets about 3 inches a part. Bake the cookies for 8 minutes, then remove from the oven (close the door) and drop the baking sheet onto a towel-covered countertop about 5-6 times.

Place the cookies back in the oven for an additional 3-4 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet and enjoy!

Expert Baking Tips

• I recommend using a thick, creamy peanut butter like Jif or Skippy.
• The traditional pan banging method by Sarah Kieffer uses aluminum foil to help the cookies spread and achieve those beautiful cracks & ripples. I have tested these cookies with both aluminum foil and parchment paper, and they both work equally as well.
• To achieve perfectly round cookies, use a large cookie cutter or round glass, and gently circle around the cookies when they immediately come out of the oven.
• Store these cookie in an air-tight container at room temperature for about 2-3 days.
• You can freeze scooped cookie dough balls or baked cookies for up to 3 months.

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x