Soft-baked and brownie-like chocolate peanut butter cookies loaded with peanut butter cups and drizzled with melted peanut butter. Pass me a glass of milk!
I have my go-to peanut butter cookies. I have my go-to double chocolate chip cookies. Both soft-baked, thick, and lusciously tender. I even have a peanut butter filled brownie cookie. What I don’t have is a peanut butter-chocolate cookie recipe. And it was high time I created one.
To make peanut butter-chocolate cookies extra special, I stuffed them with chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups and drizzled each with melted peanut butter. This turned them into the ultimate peanut-butter chocolate treat. And had me running to the kitchen for a tall glass of vanilla almond milk.
(Am I the only one who doesn’t like the taste of regular milk?)
Making the cookies isn’t that difficult. The ingredients are easy and convenient, like most of my cookie recipes. They’re a great excuse to take advantage of all the Reese’s peanut butter cups on sale for Halloween!
There isn’t *too much* peanut butter in the cookie dough. Just enough to lend a slight peanut butter flavor. Chocolate is overpowering in practically anything you add it to. That’s why I drizzle each cookie with peanut butter on top. 🙂
You’ll need to chill the cookie dough for about an hour, so be sure to plan accordingly. The cookie dough will be MUCH too sticky to bake unless it has been chilled. Chilling is mandatory for a lot of my cookie recipes, like chocolate chip cookies. Chilling not only makes the cookie dough easier to work with, it binds the flavors together as well. Sort of like chili simmering on the stove, cookie dough needs time in the fridge to allow the flavors to “settle” and get friendly with one another. But if you’re ever in a rush and need a cookie without the chill time, shortbread cookies or snickerdoodles are for you.
Once the cookie dough is chilled, simply roll it into balls. I took this photo in the morning with gorgeous orange sunlight beaming in:
The cookies take about 10-12 minutes in the oven. Try not to overbake them. It’s tough to tell when the cookies are overbaked because they are so dark. When it comes to my cookie recipes, always err on the underbaked side of things. The cookies will continue to bake on the cookie sheet when you remove it from the oven.
I find that the cookies only spread slightly in the oven. That’s not a problem at all! Once you take them out of the oven, gently press down on each cookie with the back of a spoon or fork to get it to spread out. This will create little cracked tops. And the melted peanut butter on top with melt right inside. For the drizzle, just melt a bit of peanut butter and drizzle it all over the tops. The more, the better. You’ll never see me pass on the opportunity to add more peanut butter to anything…
They’re messy, gooey, drippy, and perfect.
Kevin compared these cookies to brownies. Fudgy brownie cookies. He’s totally accurate—the inside of the cookies is reminiscent of moist fudgy brownies! We could not stop eating them. Soon enough, they were completely gone before I could even share them with my hungry dog park friends (the owners of course).
One bite will have you forget everything else going on in your busy life. Forget the deadlines, errands, and unmade bed. After you taste these cookies, all you will be thinking about is peanut butter and chocolate.
The only change to the recipe that I would make? DOUBLE it. Seriously, 16 cookies will disappear quickly.
Print
Ultimate Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
- Yield: 16 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft-baked and brownie-like chocolate peanut butter cookies loaded with peanut butter cups and drizzled with melted peanut butter. Pass me a glass of milk!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 (188g) cups all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 cup (41g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (60g) cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk
- 1 and 1/4 cups Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, chopped (about 16 Reese’s miniatures)
- for drizzle: 1/3 cup (85g) creamy or chunky peanut butter
Instructions
- Toss the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed. Switch the mixer to medium speed and beat in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and peanut butter until combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Turn the mixer off and pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and slowly beat until a soft dough is formed. Beat in the milk on medium speed. Once mixed, beat in the peanut butter cups until evenly disbursed. The dough will be very thick and sticky. Cover the dough tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Drop 8 rounded balls of dough, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough each (I like to use a medium cookie scoop), onto prepared baking sheets. Bake each batch for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven. The cookies will not have spread much, so gently press down on them with the back of a fork or spoon. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- As the cookies are cooling, melt the peanut butter. Drizzle over warm or cool cookies. Allow peanut butter to set for about 10 minutes. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking success tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Hi Sally, these were way too rich for me but they certainly look beautiful. If I make them again should I just use less chocolate and less peanut butter, or add more milk? Or what would you recommend?
Thanks
Hi Kristen, these are certainly rich cookies. While you can try tinkering with the ingredients a bit, it will change the overall texture of the cookies and can impact their spread, too. How about trying these chocolate peanut butter swirl cookies instead? All the same flavors, but a bit less rich. Thank you for giving these a try!
I made these for a family member for today who now cannot come over until next weekend! Will they be ok in airtight container? Or can/should I freeze them for the week for more freshness?
Thank you!!! They are delicious! Will make again!!
Hi Jessie! We would freeze them for a week to keep them as fresh as possible!
All of your recipes that I have tried have been wonderful but this is our absolute favorite! I’ve made it several times and always get asked for the recipe, so I send them the link and tell them to look over your website, because everything is a hit!
Thank you so much for making and sharing this recipe, Erika! We’re so glad these cookies are a crowd pleaser
I want to make these for a large group of people. Can I triple this recipe or should I make it three times?
Hi Sarah, You could double the recipe, but depending on the size of you mixer it may be easy to overwhelm your mixer with too much dough if you triple it. You want to make sure you get a uniform texture and avoid overmixing.
Hey Sally! Will the peanut butter drizzle “set” or harden after cooling, or will it stay drippy? I’m looking for a pb topping that will set and I’m hoping yours will work! Also, did you use natural pb or the Jif/Skippy stuff?
Hi Toni! I recommend using processed peanut butter for these cookies such as Jif or Skippy. Natural style, while my top choice for cooking and eating, isn’t ideal for baking. Cookies end up crumbly. The topping does not set, however, try the peanut butter white chocolate drizzle from my peanut butter jam thumbprints instead. That will set.
How well do you think these will travel? Thanks!
Hi Susan, If you pack them well in an airtight container they should stay fresh at room temperature for up to 1 week.