5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips

Picture making cookies on a Tuesday night. Can you? Or is baking such a production in your mind that this doesn’t quite compute? With these 5 ingredient peanut butter cookies, you don’t need a special occasion to flip on the oven.

Simple 5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Well, that’s because you’re not relying on miracle ingredient peanut butter. You may think you already understand peanut butter’s glory, having made peanut sauce or eaten a “bread-free PB&J” right from the spoon. But until you’ve seen how a cup of creamy peanut butter can turn into a batch of cookies, you haven’t admired the nut’s full range.

Of course, even peanut butter needs a little help. Here, we measured out brown sugar, an egg, baking soda, and chocolate chips in addition to the creamy spread.

Close-up of Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips
5 ingredient peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips

That all gets mixed together, a process that’s not nearly hard enough to warrant the use of an electric mixer (phew!). Formed into balls, the dough looks a whole lot like regular not-five-ingredient cookie dough.
And then: bake! These only take about 8 minutes to turn from dough balls into bona fide cookies, so even if you’re hesitant to turn on the oven, you can have freshly baked cookies without turning the kitchen into a sauna.

Bonus! If you care, these are gluten-free. Also, though we like using creamy peanut butter – but if all you have on hand is crunchy, the cookies will still be wonderful.

Recipe for Simple Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips

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Sweet and Salty Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Just because we must grow up, that doesn’t mean we have to put childish things away. These peanut butter and jelly bars have all the flavors of a childhood snack baked into a sophisticated dessert. If you’re craving the nostalgic comfort of a classic flavor combination, these are the treat for you. Feel free to put your own twist on the recipe by swapping in your favorite flavor of jam or jelly (Chef Alex thinks peach would be delicious). 

Sweet and Salty Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars 

Recipe by Chef Alex Saggiomo 

  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
  • 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1½ cups light brown sugar
  • ¾ cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons strawberry jam
  • 1 tablespoon chopped peanuts
  • Flaky sea salt
peanut butter and jelly bar ingredients
lined up and ready to go

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F

2. In a medium bowl,  whisk together 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, and 1 tsp. kosher salt. Set aside.  

3. Combine the 2 large eggs, 1 ½ cups light brown sugar, ¾ cup smooth peanut butter, ½ cup melted unsalted butter, and 1 tsp. vanilla extract in a large bowl. Whisk together. 

4. Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stir until no streaks of flour remain.

5. Scrape the batter into a buttered 8×8″ baking pan. Dollop with 2 Tbsp. strawberry jam; using the tip of a knife, swirl the jam on the surface of the batter. Top with 1 Tbsp. chopped peanuts. 

6. Bake 30-40 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, let cool for at least 20 minutes, and enjoy. 

baked peanut butter and jelly bars
Peanut butter and jelly bars fresh out of the oven