All-American Chocolate Chunk Cookies

• dark chocolate↗300g g

  (about 55% cocoa solids)

• milk chocolate bar100g g
• white sugar↗100g g
• butter↗85g g

  room temperature

• peanut butter↗100g g

  preferably with peanuts

• medium egg1
• vanilla↗½ tsp

  extract

• flour with baking powder100g g
• large salted roasted peanuts↗100g g

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 180 °C (gas mark 4, convection 160 °C). Prepare all ingredients and weigh them.

2. 2

   Cut 200 g of dark chocolate into coarse, uneven pieces. Do the same with the milk chocolate, keeping it separate.

3. 3

   Break the remaining dark chocolate into a large heat‑proof bowl. Melt it in the microwave on medium power for about 1½ minutes (or using a steam bath).

4. 4

   Stir the chocolate until it melts, then add the sugar, butter, peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract, mixing with a wooden spoon until homogeneous. Incorporate the flour, all pieces of milk chocolate, whole peanuts (no need to chop) and half of the remaining dark chocolate pieces. The dough will be quite soft and will easily fall off the spoon when shaken.

5. 5

   Drop large spoonfuls of dough (about 12) onto 2–3 baking sheets, leaving space for spreading (you may need to bake in batches). Press the remaining chocolate pieces into the center of each cookie (2–3 pieces per cookie).

6. 6

   Bake for 10–12 minutes until the edges turn slightly darker. The aroma will indicate the cookies are done. The centers will remain soft, and during cooling they will dry out and become crisp (baking longer yields an even crispier cookie). Let them cool in the tray for a few minutes (they will fall apart if moved while hot), then carefully lift them with a spatula onto a cooling rack. In an airtight jar, the cookies stay crisp for 3–4 days.