PEANUT BUTTER CUP COOKIES

If peanut butter cookies are your thing, these will be calling your name! They are thick, with crispy edges, a chewy center, and loaded with mini peanut butter cups and chocolate chips. A favorite cookie year round, these beauties are especially delicious around the holiday season.

       

Peanut butter cups are one of my all-time favorite candies, which makes these cookies so dangerous! It’s a good thing my husband and son love them as much as I do, otherwise I would eat them all!! They have just the right amount of tenderness and just the right amount of chew. With peanut butter and chocolate in every bite, I simply want to keep on eating. They are so addictive!

If you are looking for holiday baking ideas, this recipe is perfect! I love simplicity, and baking doesn’t get much easier than these peanut butter cookies. There is no filling, no frosting, no glaze, and no chilling. Just beat the wet ingredients, incorporate the dry, and stir in the chocolates. Bake for 13-15 minutes. Then enjoy the fruits of your not-so-hard labor!

By the way, my Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies, Pistachio Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies, and Gingerbread Lace Cookies are so good for the holiday season too!

Recipe highlights:

• Combine flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
• Cream sugars, peanut butter, and butter.
• Beat in eggs and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. 
• Add flour mixture. Stir until just combined.
• Stir in peanut butter cups and chocolate chips.
• Drop by a generous 2 tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet.  
• Bake for 13-15 minutes.
• Transfer cookies onto cooling rack to cool.
• Refer to the recipe card below for detailed instructions.

How to store the cookies:

The cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 4-5 days. To freeze, place in an airtight container for up to three months.

I prefer to keep my cookies in the refrigerator. It does a better job of maintaining the texture and keeps the edges crispy. Cookies stored at room temperature are perfectly good, but they tend to lose the crispiness.

Allow refrigerated cookies to sit at room temperature 15 minutes before you inhale it :)

 

I’m making these cookies for the holidays, but they are good to enjoy with a tall glass of milk year round. In my opinion, they are perfect as is. But if you would like to add a little touch of the holidays, top the cookie dough with sprinkles or colored sugar crystals prior to baking.

If you’re doing cookie swaps this year, in person or virtually, these peanut butter cookies would be perfect. They are straight forward, easy to make...most importantly SO GOOD!!! 

More baking ideas for the holidays:

• Brownie and Things Baklava
• Gingerbread Donuts with Brown Butter Glaze
• Pistachio Brookie Bars
• Baked Apple Butter Donuts

PEANUT BUTTER CUP COOKIES

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INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 scant teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup peanut butter

3/4 cups butter, room temperature

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cups milk chocolate chips

80 pieces (about 11 ounces) Reese’s Minis (peanut butter cups...comes unwrapped)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. 
2. In a medium bowl whisk flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine sugars, peanut butter, and butter. Using an electric mixer, beat until wet and coarse in texture, about 1 minute.
4. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
5. Add flour mixture, a third at a time, mixing until just incorporated after each addition.
6. Stir in peanut butter cups and chocolate chips by hand.
7. Drop generous 2 tablespoonfuls of dough (I use a 2-inch diameter ice cream scoop) onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet, at least 2-inches apart.
8. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the bottom edges are lightly golden. To prevent dry, crumbly cookies, don’t over bake.
9. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for 2 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Makes about 22 cookies, 3.25-inch diameter.

Recipe notes:

• For even distribution of peanut butter cups, cut each candy in half. Be gentle when mixing the halved candy into the dough as they will break easily.
• If you can’t get the Reese’s unwrapped minis, use 11 ounces of a larger size, cut into large chunks.
• For smaller 2-inch cookies, drop dough by a generous tablespoonful onto baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes.
• Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
• For best texture retention, store refrigerated, but cookies can be stored at room temperature. Allow refrigerated cookies to sit at room temperature 15 minutes before eating.

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