Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Brown Sugar

Peanut butter and chocolate? In a cookie?! You know something’s gonna be delicious when those three are combined. 

These cookies are my go-to option whenever I need something sweet that’s also quick and easy to make.

Plus, if you find yourself without some brown sugar, worry not! These cookies are made with white sugar in place of brown sugar.

The Difference Between White And Brown Sugar

For this cookie, we’re gonna be switching out the traditional use of brown sugar with some granulated white sugar. These two sugars seem pretty similar from the outset, so what’s the difference between these two baking ingredients?

Besides the name and appearance, these two sugars bring different results once cookies are baked with them.

Brown sugar makes your cookies chewier. This kind of sugar contains molasses, which adds moisture to the cookies themselves.

Molasses is also slightly acidic, which causes the proteins in the cookie to firm up faster, creating a chewier texture.

If you’re looking for a crispier cookie, white sugar is the ingredient to go for. It will result in a flatter, crispier, and lighter-colored cookies.

Granulated white sugar is hygroscopic so it attracts and absorbs the liquid in the dough. This slows the development of gluten in the cookies which makes them crispier in the end. 

For me, I prefer a cookie that’s not too thick but a little bit thinner with a crisp edge. So, for this recipe, I’m using white granulated sugar to achieve that texture.

Tips For Making Cookies

Getting your cookie baking technique down takes a few tries (at least, for me it did). When prepping for this recipe, here are a few things to consider when making these delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

• Make sure to use only high-quality ingredients.
• When choosing flour, I go with self-rising flour so I don’t have to add any additional rising agent.
• I prefer using baking chocolate as opposed to chocolate chips. With baking chocolate, you can chop it however large you like it, and it ends up creating these beautiful pockets of chocolate in the cookie that you just can’t get with chocolate chips! I like to go with semi-sweet chocolate.
• Make sure to cream your butter and sugar together until they are entirely homogenous. Otherwise, the butter will create strange pockets in the cookies if it’s not fully incorporated.
• When adding the eggs, beat them into the mixture one at a time. If you add them all at once, the mixture can become too liquidy too quickly, which isn’t the end of the world, but it can affect the texture of the cookies.
• Make sure to chill your dough before baking to help the cookies hold their shape better.

How To Make Cookies Without Brown Sugar

Step 1

Assemble your ingredients.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter, peanut butter, and sugar until fluffy.

Step 2

Add egg and vanilla. Beat well.

Step 3

Fold in flour and baking powder. Stir until the flour is well incorporated.

Step 4

Finally, fold in chocolate chips or chopped chocolate.

Chill the dough in a fridge for 30 minutes.

Step 5

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Shape the dough into 12 cookies.

Flatten each gently and bake in a heated oven for 12 minutes.

Cool the cookies on a wire rack before serving.

Enjoy!

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