In the bowl of a standing mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, cream together butter and peanut butter until smooth.
Add sugars and beat until combined.
Add eggs, vanilla and milk and beat for 30-60 seconds on medium-high speed until the mixture is light in color and sugar is dissolved.
Add the flour, baking soda, sea salt, baking powder and cinnamon, then beat until incorporated.
Add the chocolate chips and stir until combined.
Transfer the dough to an airtight glass container with a lid and chill in the refrigerator for at least 60 minutes, and up to overnight.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper and set aside.
Use a cookie scoop to measure 1 ½ to 2 TBS dough and roll it into a ball. Repeat until all the dough has been used.
Place 12 cookies on each large baking sheet.
Use a fork to gently press a crisscross pattern into the top of each cookie.
Bake in preheated oven for approximately 9-10 minutes. Take them out when they are just barely starting to turn brown, puffed and just start to crackle.
Let the cookies sit on the baking pan for 5 minutes before removing to cooling rack.
Cool completely on a wire rack before serving or storing.
Video
Notes
Store: Store peanut butter cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, or in the refrigerator for 5 days.Freeze: Freeze baked cookies for up to 1 month in an airtight container in the freezer.Or, freeze the cookie dough by rolling it into balls and placing it in an airtight, freezer-friendly container for up to 1 month.To bake, thaw cookie dough to room temperature and follow recipe instructions on pressing the tops with a fork and baking.Ingredient Notes/Substitutions
Salted Butter. Unsalted butter or ghee are good substitutes.
Peanut Butter. I recommend using peanut butter that is solid at room temperature You can use natural peanut butter, but be aware that the cookies may spread more and be more on the crispy side than the soft side. Also, many natural peanut butters are unsalted, so you may need to increase the amount of salt in the recipe by ¼ tsp.
Whole Milk. you can substitute 2% milk, heavy cream, or half-and-half.
Light Brown Sugar. If you like a bolder, molasses taste use dark brown sugar.
Granulated Sugar. White sugar or organic cane sugar are both great options.
Cinnamon. I think the touch of cinnamon is the chef's kiss in this recipe, however you can omit it if you prefer.
Sea salt. I only bake with pure, fine sea salt. If you are using iodized salt I recommend decreasing the amount of salt by half.