Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

We all know chocolate and peanut butter are a match made in heaven. The infamous combo is what makes buckeyes delicious, scotcheroos insanely good and peanut butter blossoms completely irresistible—and don’t even get us started on Reese’s. That’s why we need a recipe for peanut butter cup cookies.

These peanut butter chocolate treats have a tender, peanut butter-heavy cookie base and are stuffed with chocolate chips and chopped peanut butter cups. They’re essential for peanut butter dessert lovers or if you just so happen to have some homemade peanut butter cups lying around your house.

Ingredients for Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

• Butter: Our Test Kitchen pros have found the best butter brands to bake with, ranging from the best European-style to the best everyday butter. Did your favorite make the list?
• Peanut butter: Use a commercial brand like Skippy or Jif—either one is on our list of favorite peanut butter brands. You can use creamy or chunky, whichever you prefer!
• Sugars: We use a 50:50 ratio of granulated sugar and brown sugar. Granulated sugar makes cookies crispy, while brown sugar imparts a deeper flavor and more moisture, resulting in tender cookies. Get the best of both worlds!
• Chocolate chips: Our Test Kitchen pros taste-tested a ton of different popular chocolate chip brands to find the best one, and there were a few winners!
• Peanut butter cups: Use any of your favorite peanut butter cup candies here. They won’t affect the texture of the actual cookie dough, so go with your favorite!

Directions

Step 1: Beat the creamed mixture

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Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to cream together the butter, peanut butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined.

Editor’s Tip: It may take a bit for the butter, peanut butter and sugar mixture to become light and fluffy. Be patient! The result is worth it.

Step 2: Mix the dough

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In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

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Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat well.

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Use a rubber spatula to fold in the chocolate chips and peanut butter cups until they’re evenly dispersed throughout the dough.

Step 3: Scoop the dough

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Drop the cookie dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.

Editor’s Tip: Use a cookie scoop to make the process quicker and create consistent cookie sizes. A cookie scoop is, quite literally, first on our list of essential cookie baking supplies.

Step 4: Bake the cookies

Bake the cookies until the edges are lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool at room temperature for two minutes, then move them to wire racks.

Editor’s Tip: If you have any leftover chocolate chips or chopped peanut butter cups, carefully push them into the tops of the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven. We love how this makes the cookies look gourmet and it adds even more to each bite.

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Recipe Variations

• Try different mix-ins: Chopped up Snickers, Oreos or Rolos make great cookie inclusions for an explosion of flavor and textural contrast. As you can probably guess, this is an amazing recipe to make if you have a lot of leftover Halloween candy.
• Add more peanut butter flavor: If you’re a big peanut butter lover, take out half (or completely omit) the chocolate chips and put in Reese’s Pieces candies. Or, use peanut butter chips!
• Swap in different chocolate chips: We love the semisweet chocolate chips in this recipe, but you can totally swap them for another type. Milk, dark and white chocolate chips are fantastic, and even chocolate chunks would work here too.

How to Store Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Cool the cookies completely to room temperature, then place them in an airtight container or a proper cookie storage container. The cookies will keep at room temperature for up to four days.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Tips

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What’s the best peanut butter to use for this recipe?

The best peanut butter to use for this recipe is a no-stir creamy peanut butter like Jif or Skippy. This style has the perfect amount of fat that makes the cookie dough just right. Avoid all-natural peanut butter and reduced-fat peanut butter as these create a dry dough.

Can you make the cookie dough ahead of time?

You sure can! Whip up the cookie dough, then scoop out the cookie dough by the tablespoonful. Drop the cookie dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet, placing the dough balls right next to each other to conserve space. Place the baking sheet in the freezer until the cookie dough balls are hard, 30 to 60 minutes. Transfer the cookie dough balls to a resealable bag and stash them in the freezer for up to three months.

To bake, there’s no need to thaw the cookie dough. Simply place the frozen cookie dough balls 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350°F until the edges are golden brown. The frozen cookie dough may need a longer time in the oven than the freshly made cookie dough, but only a few minutes more.