Salted Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Many of you are well aware of my love for anything peanut butter.  Some may even call it an obsession. I see the words "peanut butter" in a recipe and within a week, I've likely tested it out. Add a little chocolate to the mix and you might as well call my obsession a love affair. This past week I stumbled upon a cookie that I'll definitely be adding to my top ten list. These Salted Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies were featured on Brown Eyed Baker. While hanging at my mom's house this week, I couldn't resist making them. These are DELISH!

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 
½ cup peanuts (I chopped mine and didn't quite use a full 1/2 cup)
Coarse salt for sprinkling

Note: I also didn't have semisweet chocolate chips, so I improvised with what my mom had in her cupboards... and I think I'll continue with this alteration. Instead of the cup of semisweet chocolate chips, I chopped up half of a dark chocolate bar, a handful of peanut butter chips, and chopped up four Reese's Peanut Butter Cups left over from Halloween. This all equaled a little over one cup.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. Beat together the butter, peanut butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract. Scrape the bowl. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate chips and peanuts.

4. Drop by two heaping tablespoonfuls of dough, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle a small pinch of coarse salt on top of each cookie. Bake for about 10-12 minutes (I only did 10 and that was plenty), or until the outside of the cookies are set but the middles are still a little soft. Cool cookies on the baking sheets. Store in an airtight container.