Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Rice Crispy Cookies

posted on March 11, 2013 by Bianca Garcia

One morning, I woke up and the first thought that came to mind was: I want to bake peanut butter cookies.

So bake I did. I pushed the rest of my to-do’s a couple of hours back and proceeded straight to my kitchen (approximately seven steps from my bed) to bake what turned out to be…

The best peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had.

Now, don’t think I take those words lightly.

I’ve made quite a few batches of peanut butter cookies in this lifetime already. But I remember reading Avery Cooks’ post on her version of the best peanut butter cookies, and I thought, I could also just tweak my tried and tested peanut butter cookie recipe and add two things that make cookies taste incredible: dark chocolate chips and rice crispies.

You read that right: rice crispy cereal. The first time I added rice crispies to cookies, I made White Chocolate Corn Cookies that were so good, I put them on top of my holiday baking list (again, no easy feat since I go a little overboard with baking during the holidays).

The rice crispies give a nice touch of pop and crackle to the subtly orange-flavored peanut butter cookies with dark chocolate chips. Orange and dark chocolate really go together very well. The orange flavor was imparted by fresh orange zest, my latest baking ingredient pet.

I also made sure to use commercial peanut butter: good ole Skippy. Not the fancy, healthy, grind-your-own peanut butter. I find that using organic (and expensive) peanut butter results in chalkier cookies, especially in flourless cookies. Yes, these cookies are made without any flour.

Instead, these cookies are chock full of peanut butter, eggs, and rice crispies. They’re practically breakfast. They are super easy to make, too. I didn’t use a mixer, just a big mixing bowl and a fork to stir everything together. There’s no chilling time required, no flour, no butter, no hassle.

And did I mention that these were the best peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had?

Sweet, dense, with dark chocolate chips strewn throughout, some chewiness and crunch from the rice crispies baked in the batter, and a hint of the sophisticated flavors of orange zest. Peanut butter chocolate chip rice crispy cookies.

Another mouthful of words stuffed in one recipe title, another mouthful of cookies stuffed in my mouth.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Rice Crispy Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup rice crispies

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine all the ingredients, except chocolate chips and rice crispies, in a big mixing bowl. Mix by hand, then fold in chocolate chip and rice crispies. Using a standard cookie scoop (a generous 1 tablespoon of dough, or approximately 2 inches), portion out the dough and place evenly on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Flatten the top of each cookie gently. Bake for 8-10 minutes, flipping the pans halfway. Let the cookies cool and enjoy!