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Trust me, if you’re a lover of all things sweet ‘n salty, the addition of crunchy pork rinds to a chocolate chip cookie will blow your mind. These pork rind and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are an easy Southern dessert that will be a new family favorite treat anytime of the year!
If you love Southern cookie recipes, don’t miss my recipes for butter pecan cookies and these brownie mix chocolate chip cookies!
Introduction
If you’ve baked your way through my Deeply Southern Tea Cakes, Ginger Molasses Tea Cookies, and Buttery Whipped Shortbread Cookies, you know I have a deep love for classic Southern cookie recipes. But until now, I hadn’t shared a peanut butter cookie recipe—especially not one like this. Made with pantry staples like brown sugar, butter, peanut butter, and chocolate chips, these cookies have a fun Southern twist: they’re rolled in crushed crispy pork rinds before baking. Yes, pork rinds! And trust me—they add a crave-worthy salty crunch that takes these cookies to another level!
This recipe is courtesy of our friends at Taste of The South magazine, so it’s not one of my original recipes…but after one bite, I had to include it in my collection of Southern cookies! With their chewy centers and crunchy, salty exteriors, these cookies are an unexpected delight. You don’t need to wait until a holiday to make these epic pork rind and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!
Ingredients
Curious what you need to make these pork rind and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies? Grab these key ingredients, and you’ll be ready to make this mouthwatering Southern dessert!
- Peanut Butter: Use creamy peanut butter so it incorporates into the dough more easily. I tested this recipe with regular peanut butter, but it should also work well with natural peanut butter (one that needs to be stirred before using).
- Pork Rinds: Look for pork rinds in the snack isle of your grocery store. When purchasing, ensure you are purchasing plain or original pork rinds, as many brands now flavor them. The last thing you want to do is to purchase ‘Molten Lava’ or ‘Atomic Blaze’ flavored rinds for cookies!
- Chocolate: I like to use a mixture of bittersweet chocolate (60-70% cacao or higher) and semisweet chocolate for the best flavor combination. Either chop up a baking bar or use baking chips.
- Flakey Sea Salt: Just a touch of flakey salt on top of the cookies brings out their flavor and goes beautifully with the chocolate and peanut butter! Use margarita salt or even coarse Kosher salt if you don’t have any flakey sea salt on hand.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Pork Rind and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
This simple cookie method could not be any easier–I promise! And these soon may even become your favorite cookies as they have become mine.
- Make the cookie dough. Beat the butter, peanut butter, and both types of sugar until creamy; about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Whisk together the dry ingredients until combined, then add to the wet ingredients and stir until just mixed. Mix in 3/4 cup of crushed pork rinds and both types of chocolate, then chill for 30-40 minutes.
- Form dough into a ball, then divide it into quarters. Shape three equal balls from each quadrant of dough. Roll the balls in the extra crushed pork rinds and place them 2 1/2-inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten the cookies with the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to 3/4-inch thick. Press together any obvious cracks in the edges if necessary.
- Bake the cookies at 350°F until the edges are golden; about 12-15 minutes. The cookie centers will seem soft, which is correct! Sprinkle with with flakey sea salt, then let them cool on the baking sheets for 4 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Pork rinds are made by simmering pig skin in water until much of the fat has rendered (and the skin has shrunk). What remains is then chilled so that any additional pork fat can solidify.
And despite how it sounds, pork rinds are healthier than you’d think. Pork rinds contain fat that is slightly lower than the amount of fat found in potato chips. I know, go figure…
The majority of recipes specify semisweet chocolate for chocolate chip cookies. But I recommend using two types of chocolate for the very best flavor. You can use baking chips or baking bars that have been finely chopped.
Using semisweet and bittersweet chocolate brings a balanced chocolate flavor and enhances the flavor of both the peanut butter and the pork rinds. It’s needed! The cookies still taste good with only semisweet, but they rock and roll with both kinds of chocolate.
Make sure the ingredients are at room temperature so they incorporate well. Then, measure the ingredients accurately, preferably with a kitchen scale. Mix the ingredients until they’re just combined, as overmixing will make the cookies tough! Space the cookies evenly on parchment-lined trays (be careful not to overcrowd), then bake in a properly preheated oven. Use an oven thermometer to check that your oven isn’t running hot or cold, and that it’s at the right temp before putting in the cookies!
Homemade cookies will stay fresh for 2-3 weeks if they’re stored in an airtight container or metal cookie tin. I crumple parchment paper a couple of times before smoothing it out and lining a cookie tin. Then, I pile the cookies loosely inside. Never place a warm cookie in a tin; always allow them to cool completely before loading.
I usually find old tins at estate and yard sales and can scoop them up for as little as .50¢ a piece. Really look them over though, especially on the inside, to ensure there is absolutely no rust.
Serving Pork Rind and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Be ready with a cup of hot tea or coffee for when these pork rind and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are baked, because you’re gonna want to taste them right away!
Although these cookies taste amazing anytime of the year, these make a wonderful addition to your Christmas cookie tins. Create a sweet and memorable gift by stuffing your cookie tins along with other favorite treats, like gingerbread rum balls, Christmas almond cookies, pineapple cherry nut cookies, or these double chocolate fudge cookies with orange.
Expert Tips
- Table salt and iodized salt are not substitutions for Kosher salt. Do not use table salt or iodized salt in any of the recipes you find on Not Entirely Average unless specified otherwise.
- I use my stand mixer for these cookies, but you may also use a handheld electric mixer and get the job done the same.
- Yield & Cookie Size: I do not recommend trying to stretch the recipe and make smaller cookies, as the bake time will be thrown off. That said, this recipe also did not do well when I doubled it. These are definitely at their prime as a single batch, dozen bake!
- Storing Cookies Properly: Place inside metal cookie tins or another airtight container. Homemade cookies will stay fresh for two to three weeks.
Other Southern Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
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Pork Rind and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- 2 large, rimmed baking sheets
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 ¾ cups unflavored pork rinds, crushed
- 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips , or chopped baking bar
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips, or chopped baking bar
- flakey sea salt, for garnish
Instructions
Making the Cookie Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or mixing bowl if using a handheld mixer), beat peanut butter, softened butter, and both brown and granulated sugars at medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Ensure you stop at least once to scrape down the bowl. Add the egg, beating until well combined. Add in the vanilla and beat until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a wire whisk to distribute all of the dry ingredients in the flour. Add this flour mixture to peanut butter mixture all at once, and beat on low speed just until combined, stopping at least once to scrape down the bowl.
- Fold in ¾ cup pork rinds and both the bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolates. Your dough will be very stiff, and this is correct. Cover the dough with plastic film and refrigerate for 30 to 40 minutes.
Baking the Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Form the dough into a ball. Begin by halving the dough evenly, then halving each half evenly. Shape three equally sized cookie balls from each quadrant of dough. Roll the dough balls in the crushed pork rinds and place 2 1/2-inches apart on the cookie sheets, 6 per sheet. These cookies spread very little, but they still mustn't be crowded.
- Use the bottom of a drinking glass or measuring cup to flatten each dough ball to 3/4-inch thick. Press together any obvious cracks in the edges if necessary but remember these are overall rustic in their shape.
- Bake the cookies in the preheated oven until they edges are golden, anywhere from 12 to 15 minutes. Once you pull the baking sheets from the oven, you will notice that the cookie centers still seem soft. This is correct!
- Sprinkle the warm cookies with a tiny amount of flakey sea salt. Allow them to cool directly on the baking sheets for 4 minutes, then use a wide spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
- Table salt and iodized salt are not substitutions for Kosher salt. Do not use table salt or iodized salt in any of the recipes you find on Not Entirely Average unless specified otherwise.
- I use my stand mixer for these cookies, but you may also use a handheld electric mixer and get the job done the same.
- Yield & Cookie Size: I do not recommend trying to stretch the recipe and make smaller cookies, as the bake time will be thrown off. That said, this recipe also did not do well when I doubled it. These are definitely at their prime as a single batch, dozen bake!
- Storing Cookies Properly: Place inside metal cookie tins or another airtight container. Homemade cookies will stay fresh for two to three weeks.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Oh just yum!! I love salty sweet – Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party. Hope the rest of your week is awesome!