Line a large sheet pan with a silicone liner (or parchment paper) and set aside.
In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the butter until it’s melted. Set aside to cool back to room temperature (hot butter will melt sugars and cause greasy cookies). Once at room temperature, use a spatula to scrape every bit of butter into a large bowl and add brown sugar and granulated sugar. Mix with a large whisk until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
Add peanut butter and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. Add in 1 egg. Mix until ingredients are incorporated, then add the second egg. Again, mix until the ingredients are incorporated. Add baking soda and salt and mix until just incorporated. Add flour and again mix until just incorporated. Don’t overmix. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips.
Cover dough and chill for 30 minutes, up to 1 hour—see note 5. Preheat oven to 325°F. Scoop the dough and roll into large balls, each a packed 2 tablespoons (40 grams) in size (see note 6). Roll balls that are taller rather than wider. Place dough balls on the lined sheet pan, 6 cookies at a time, leaving ample room (2 inches) between cookies. If dough balls have gotten too warm from rolling, pop the tray of cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Bake 8–14 minutes. Ever-so-slightly underbaking the cookies will keep them soft and chewy. They also bake a bit more on the sheet pan when removed from the oven (see note 7 for troubleshooting). Be careful to not overbake these cookies!
Remove cookies, and if desired, press some extra chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies. Allow them to cool on the sheet pan 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.
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Notes
Note 1: Make sure the brown sugar is fresh and very soft! Hard brown sugar won’t mix/bake up properly.Note 2: I love and highly recommend Skippy® Creamy Peanut Butter in these cookies (not sponsored). I don’t recommend a natural peanut butter that needs stirring.Note 3: See if baking soda is fresh by using this quick test! If baking soda is at all clumpy, press through a fine-mesh sieve first.Note 4: Measuring flour can wildly vary from person to person and is usually the culprit for cookies not working out. If you have a food scale, use that instead of measuring cups. 310 grams is perfect for this recipe!Note 5: The dough is best chilled for 30 minutes to an hour, and after that, it begins to dry out and become crumbly—making it hard to roll into balls. If you need to chill longer, just roll out the dough balls and place them on a parchment paper-covered plate. Cover tightly and chill for up to 24 hours.Note 6: These cookies work best when they’re 2 tablespoons in size (40 grams). While you may want smaller or bigger cookies, know that the texture is not the same.Note 7: Troubleshooting: If the cookies aren’t spreading at all, it’s likely there was too much flour added or the dough was overchilled. Pull out of the oven and bang the tray on the counter a few times to get cookies to spread out a bit more. If cookies are spreading too much, it’s likely too little flour, old baking agents, or dough was not properly chilled. Right out of the oven and working quickly, press the edges inwards with a metal spatula.Storage: These cookies stay fresh for 3–4 days at room temperature. To freeze, drop dough balls on a sheet pan and freeze. Once solid, transfer to an airtight container or bag for up to 3 months.