Puffy Vanilla and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

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Puffy Peanut Butter Chip Cookies — Rich vanilla cookie dough is studded with peanut butter chips and baked to puffy perfection! The ultimate soft peanut butter chip cookie with zero frills, just delicious flavor! 

Puffy Vanilla and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Ultra Soft Cookies with Peanut Butter Chips

These cookies turned out so puffy that they caught me by surprise. And they’re so vanilla-ey, but that was by design because I’m a vanilla fiend.

They are a little bit peanut buttery even though I didn’t add peanut butter to the actual cookie dough.

Instead, I used peanut butter chips and they gave a subtle peanut butter flavor, yet not so much that the vanilla flavor was lost.

I was going to add white chocolate chips, too, but I know not everyone is as crazy about white chocolate as I am, so I refrained.

I did add something to them that I almost never bake with. Good ole Crisco.

Puffy Vanilla and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

I read cookie making guides and online websites devoted to The Perfect Cookie and never tire of the epic food science quest in finding what makes cookies puffy, flat, chewy, crispy, you name it.

Many people swear by some lard to keep things moist and puffy. Scientifically, that makes sense.

And boy, puffy is what happened.

That would be pufffffyyyy.

Not using butter is a smidge of a sacrifice in the flavor department because there is nothing that can replace the flavor of butter in baking. However, in terms of puffiness, chewiness, and softness, these babies were perfectly puffalicious and right on point.

Puffy Vanilla and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Ingredients in Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

You need very few ingredients to make cookies with peanut butter chips. Here’s the ingredient list: 

  • Vegetable shortening 
  • Granulated sugar
  • Light brown sugar
  • Egg
  • Vanilla extract
  • Cinnamon 
  • Salt
  • Baking soda
  • All-purpose flour
  • Peanut butter chips

Puffy Vanilla and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

How to Make Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

This peanut butter chip cookie recipe is one of my easiest yet! Here’s an overview of how the recipe is made: 

  1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the shortening, sugars, egg, water, and vanilla.
  2. Add the cinnamon, salt, baking soda, flour and mix until just combined.
  3. Fold in peanut butter chips by hand.
  4. Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, or freeze for 15 if you’re rushed. 
  5. Using a cookie scoop, form 1-inch balls and place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
  6. Bake until barely brown.
  7. Remove cookies from oven when they look slightly under-baked and allow cookies to cool and firm up on cookie sheets for at least 5 minutes before moving to cooling racks.

Puffy Vanilla and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Can I Use Coconut Oil Instead of Shortening? 

A few readers have suggested using coconut oil in place of the Crisco. In theory, that’s a good idea. However, coconut oil melts when warm, which will result in thin cookies. 

However, if you’d looking for a coconut oil cookie recipe, try these coconut oil chocolate chip cookies. Just sub peanut butter chips for the chocolate chips! 

Can I Use Butter Instead of Shortening? 

Go for it! Make sure your butter is at room temperature and isn’t melted. Just note that your cookies won’t turn out quite as puffy as mine. 

Puffy Vanilla and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Tips for the Best Peanut Butter Chip Cookies 

I like vanilla-flavored foods. Actually, I am passionately in love with vanilla-flavored most anything, and I usually use twice the recommended amount of vanilla extract in any recipe.

The way I wrote this peanut butter chip cookie recipe, you don’t need to do that, but if you’re really wanting to go nuts with vanilla flavor because you’re obsessed like I am, you could possibly add one more teaspoon or perhaps some vanilla bean paste to knock your vanilla socks right off.

Also note that instead of peanut butter chips, you could use any baking chip you’d like. Butterscotch, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, you name it. 

Puffy Vanilla and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

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5 from 2 votes

Puffy Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

By Averie Sunshine
Rich vanilla cookie dough is studded with peanut butter chips and baked to puffy perfection! The ultimate soft peanut butter chip cookie with zero frills, just delicious flavor! 
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Chill Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 8 minutes
Servings: 24
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Ingredients  

  • ½ cup Crisco, or vegetable shortening
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • pinch salt, optional
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup peanut butter chips, or butterscotch, white chocolate, chocolate chips if preferred

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 375F and line two cookie sheets with Silpat liners, parchment paper, or spray with cooking spray.
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat together Crisco, sugars, egg, water, and vanilla, until batter is creamy.
  • Add the cinnamon, salt, baking soda, flour and mix until just combined.
  • Fold in peanut butter chips by hand.
  • Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, or freeze for 15 if you’re rushed. Do not skip chilling the dough if you want puffy cookies because cold dough results in puffier cookies.
  • Using a cookie scoop, form 1-inch balls (or roll balls by hand) and place on prepared cookie sheets, allowing for adequate spacing (these cookies do not spread much, but like all cookies, they spread some; and the colder the dough, the less they will spread).
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes or until barely brown. Remove cookies from oven when they look slightly under-baked and allow cookies to cool and firm up on cookie sheets for at least 5 minutes before moving to cooling racks.

Notes

Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container on the countertop or freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 84kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 8mg, Sodium: 49mg, Sugar: 8g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

More Peanut Butter Cookie Recipes: 

ALL OF MY PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES!

Peanut Butter Cowboy Cookies — You don’t have to be a cowboy or cowgirl to love the cookies. They’re hearty, loaded with texture, and have so many wonderful flavors going on in every bite.

Easy 4-Ingredient Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies — — These 4-ingredient peanut butter cookies are made with a secret ingredient…and lots of peanut butter, of course! These are so easy and fast to make!

Big Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies — These soft peanut butter cookies are the peanut butter version of a molasses crinkle. They’re soft, supremely chewy, and have an old-fashioned peanut butter cookie flavor!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies — These peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are hands down the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever made. Know that I don’t say that lightly! They’re melt-in-your mouth soft and chewy, and extremely moist! 

Soft Peanut Butter Chip Sugar Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting — Similar to Lofthouse Soft-Frosted Sugar Cookies, but these are for peanut butter fans! I added peanut butter and frosted them with peanut butter buttercream.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Chip Cookies – Super soft, perfectly chewy, BROWNED BUTTER cookies that are LOADED with two kinds of chips!! An EASY one-bowl, no-mixer recipe for irresistibly DELISH cookies!!

Triple Peanut Butter Cookies — PB is used 3 different ways in these melt-in-your mouth cookies! Batch size of just 8 cookies when you don’t ‘need’ dozens laying around!

5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Delicious. Didn’t have enough peanut butter chips so I used seasalt caramel chips added chopped pecans

    1. Thanks for the 5 star review, Sheri, and I’m glad you made up the difference with caramel chips and chopped pecans – sounds lovely!