Loaded Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter cookies are delicious just as they are – and that is probably why people don’t tend to stuff as many mix-ins into peanut butter cookie dough as they do with chocolate chip cookie dough. But peanut butter is very versatile and can go with all kinds of other flavors – especially if one of those flavors happens to be chocolate. These Loaded Peanut Butter Cookies are pb cookies taken over the top, stuffed with chopped peanuts, mini peanut butter cups and chocolate covered pretzels for a cookie that is definitely not just another peanut butter cookie

A classic peanut butter cookie is the base of this creation, made with just enough peanut butter to ensure that they have a peanut butter flavor that won’t get lost with all the ad-ins. The cookies are tender and slightly chewy, which is a nice backdrop for the creamy mini chocolate peanut butter cups and the crunchy chocolate covered pretzels. The pretzels also add a little hint of salt to the cookies. It’s a great combination all around – but I have to admit that at the end of the day, they are just fun to eat!

I added roasted and salted peanuts to these cookies, chopping them up finely before stirring them in. Using crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy peanut butter would get you the same result in terms of texture, but I liked the little bit of additional salt that came from the peanuts because it amped up the salty-sweet contrast between the peanut butter and chocolate elements of the cookie. Taste your peanut butter before you start, because if you find it to be very salty on its own, you might not want that additional hint of salt. I will also note that my chocolate covered pretzels were not particularly salty, so if yours are, then you might not want to opt for salted peanuts as an additional mix in and use unsalted instead.

Loaded Peanut Butter Cookies
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp finely chopped roasted peanuts
2/3 cup coarsely chopped chocolate covered pretzels (1 cup whole)
2/3 cup mini peanut butter cups

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, peanut butter and vanilla until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture, then stir in the coarsely chopped peanuts, chocolate covered pretzels and mini peanut butter cups, mixing until well-distributed.
Drop dough in 1-inch balls onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until light golden around the edges.
Allow cookies to cool for 4-5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.