I married a man who is addicted to peanut butter. I know a lot of people might think “yeah, I’m addicted to peanut butter too…” but seriously, I cannot believe how much peanut butter Randy ingests. At first I thought it was just a problem he picked up whilst being a starving college student or something. But as I became more acquainted with his family, I realized it’s genetic. His mother and his sister both suffer from the same addiction. When together as a family, they consume ridiculous amounts of the stuff. They spread it on waffles, bake it in treats, spoon it from the jar, basically any form that will get it into their stomachs is acceptable. During one Christmas break we literally went through an entire tray of peanut butter bars and two jars of peanut butter in three days. Seriously people, it’s out of control.

However, it makes them happy, so it’s best to celebrate it and not fight it, right? And I have to say, it makes gift giving or baking for them easy! I don’t have to scour my baking books or the internet for ideas, I just grab the most delicious looking thing that contains peanut butter, and voila! I’ve got a great gift.

Since having our son, Theo, I’ve wondered if he’ll pick up on the family addiction. Will he be one of those kids in the playground trading everything in his lunch for anything peanut butter? Will I need to get a Costco Membership just to afford the household peanut butter bill? Luckily so far he seems a bit more partial to my almond butter (sacrilege in my house!) but only time will tell as his palate matures.

This past Father’s Day, I was scrambling to get Randy a gift, card, and something sweet. I almost bought my go to treat from Batter Bakery, Peanut Butter Blossoms, but then decided that it had been a long time since I actually baked something from scratch for him. So, I bought a jar of peanut butter and decided to make my favorite standby – peanut butter chocolate cookies. Over the years I’ve made peanut butter cakes, peanut butter chocolate bars, peanut butter brownies, and more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches than I can possibly try to count. But when given all the freedom in the world, I love making cookies over anything else. Before I met Randy, my favorite thing was chocolate oatmeal cookies, but when paired with a peanut butter addict I was forced to adapt.

This is the recipe that I always go to. And while I have to say that each batch always turns out a little different depending what I have in the cupboard, so far they are my favorite. I know that there are some die hard peanut butter cookie followers out there, and while I’m sure there are better recipes and cookies, this one is definitely one of our family favorites. Hope you enjoy!

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

1 16oz jar all natural peanut butter (this is important – none of the gnarly Jiff or Skippy, splurge on some good quality peanut butter without all the additives)
3/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cups (generous serving) brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 pinch of salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup to 1 cup chocolate chips (depending on how chocolatey you like them)

In bowl mix peanut butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time. Add soda, salt and vanilla. Then stir in chips. Spoon out balls onto a cookie sheet, pressing down slightly with either hand or fork. Bake 8 – 10 minutes then let cool for 5 – 7 before transferring.

The dough balls before going into the oven.