Flourless Cocoa Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These Cocoa Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are some of the easiest peanut butter cookies that you’ll ever make. They’re based on my Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies and use no flour or butter in them, unlike regular peanut butter cookies, and are primarily made with peanut butter, eggs and sugar. The first time you try them, you might be a bit skeptical about how they’ll work, but I can assure you that this is an easy recipe that you’ll find yourself returning to again and again.

This variation on the basic flourless peanut butter cookies adds a little bit of chocolate into the mix. I used unsweetened cocoa powder to lend some chocolate flavor to the peanut butter, giving them a peanut butter cup-like flavor – and the addition of a generous amount of chocolate chips doesn’t hurt either! The cookies are more tender than a regular peanut butter cookie but still have a nice chewiness to them. Under baking them slightly will give you a chewier finished product, and letting them go an extra minute or two will produce a crisper cookie.

I like to use smooth peanut butter in these cookies, but crunchy peanut butter can be used instead if that is what you have on hand. The little pieces of peanut add nice crispy elements to the cookies, and work well with the chocolate chips. The cookies keep very well and can be stored in an airtight container for several days after baking.

Flourless Cocoa Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup peanut butter (pref. smooth)
3 tbsp cocoa powder
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, beat together all ingredients until smooth, adding chocolate chips at the end of mixing.
Shape the dough into 1-inch round balls and drop onto prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly.
Bake for about 10-13 minutes at 350 F, until golden brown at the edges.
Cool on pan for 3-4 minutes before removing to a wire rack with a spatula to cool completely (cookies may be very tender when warm).

Makes about 2 dozen.