Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Peanut Butter
There are many things in life I’ll never fully understand. People wearing heavily padded fancy bras to the gym, celebrity breakups, and — somehow most baffling to me — those who don’t appreciate the magic of chocolate paired with peanut butter.
I grew up remembering the days when peanut butter on the grocery shelf was plain peanut butter. No added chocolate, honey, almonds, raisins, or bacon. Plain. Those simple jars feel like a relic now. At some point flavored peanut butter became a thing, and I vividly recall discovering white chocolate and dark chocolate peanut butter flavors years ago. I bought them even though I couldn’t eat them for weeks while preparing for a competition — pure torture. The morning after the show I polished off half a jar and then nearly fainted while teaching a spin class. Worth it? Absolutely.
Still, paying $16 for a small jar of flavored peanut butter feels excessive, so I experimented in my kitchen and folded cookie dough into homemade peanut butter. It felt a little wrong while I was doing it — mixing cookie dough into the creamy peanut base — but the result was absolutely right. It’s not a world-class gourmet invention, but it’s simple, quick, fun, and fantastic eaten straight from a spoon.
Ingredients
Peanut butter base:
- 2 cups unsalted peanuts
Cookie dough:
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour (coconut flour works well)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
1. Make the cookie dough: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Whisk in the brown sugar until dissolved, then let the mixture bubble gently for 1–2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla. Allow the mixture to cool completely, about 20 minutes.
2. Once cooled, stir in the powdered sugar, salt, and flour until combined. Fold in the mini chocolate chips. Place the cookie dough mixture in the fridge to firm up for 20–30 minutes.
3. Make the peanut butter: Add the peanuts to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse and then process until smooth and creamy, about 2–3 minutes. Taste and add a pinch of salt if desired.
4. Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and crumble it with your hands. Fold as much of the cookie dough into the peanut butter as you like. Transfer the finished peanut butter to an airtight container.
Homemade nut butter is usually refrigerated for safety and freshness. If you plan to consume it quickly, you can keep it at room temperature for a short time, but refrigeration is recommended for longer storage.
That’s it — a decadent, spoon-worthy chocolate chip cookie dough peanut butter you can make at home without the premium price tag.