These peanut butter cup cookies have become our family's go-to treat whenever we need something sweet that actually impresses people. After making batch after batch and watching oliver and his friends eat entire plates of these cookies, I've got the recipe down perfectly for soft, chewy cookies with melted peanut butter cups right in the center. It's not complicated - just good peanut butter cookie dough with Reese's cups pressed in while they're still hot from the oven.
Why You'll Love These Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
I've made these Peanut Butter Cup Cookies for so many different occasions now, and they never let anyone down. What I love most is how they look way fancier than they actually are - people always think I spent hours making them when really it's just regular cookie dough with candy pressed in the middle. oliver's teacher asked for the recipe after I sent them for his class party, and even my mother-in-law who's super picky about sweets said they were really good.
The taste is exactly what you'd want from peanut butter and chocolate together - that perfect sweet and salty combination that makes you want to keep eating them. The cookies stay soft and chewy for days, which is more than I can say for most cookies that get hard after sitting around. Plus, they're one of those recipes where if you mess up the timing a little bit or use different peanut butter than what I suggest, they still turn out great. I've burned the edges slightly, used crunchy instead of smooth peanut butter, and forgotten about them in the oven for an extra few minutes, and they always end up tasting good.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love These Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Ingredients For Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- How To Make Peanut Butter Cup Cookies Step By Step
- Smart Swaps for Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Storing Your Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Equipment
- Tasty Twists on Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Top Tip
- Grandma's Secret Fix Passed Down for Generations (Now It's Yours)
- FAQ
- Time to Make Some Cookie Magic!
- Related
- Pairing
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Ingredients For Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
The Cookie Dough:
- Creamy peanut butter
- Brown sugar and white sugar
- Butter
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
The Star of the Show:
- Mini Reese's peanut butter cups
- Regular-sized ones work too but minis fit better
- Buy extra because oliver always eats some while I'm baking
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Peanut Butter Cup Cookies Step By Step
Step 1 - Mix the Dough:
- Cream butter and both sugars together
- Add peanut butter and mix well
- Beat in eggs one at a time
- Mix in flour, baking soda, and salt until just combined
Step 2 - Shape and Prep:
- Roll dough into small balls (about tablespoon-sized)
- Place on ungreased cookie sheets
- Don't flatten them - they'll spread on their own
- Preheat oven to 375°F
Step 3 - Bake the Cookies:
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until edges are set
- Don't let them get brown all over
- They should still look slightly underdone in the center
Step 4 - Add the Peanut Butter Cups:
- Take cookies out of oven immediately
- Press one mini peanut butter cup into each cookie center
- The heat will melt them slightly
- Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes
Step 5 - Cool and Enjoy:
- Move to cooling rack
- Let them cool completely before storing
- Try not to eat them all while they're still warm
Smart Swaps for Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Peanut Butter Options:
- Creamy → Crunchy (different texture but good)
- Regular → Natural peanut butter (mix it well first)
- Jif/Skippy → Store brand (works fine, saves money)
- Peanut butter → Almond butter (for people with peanut allergies)
Sugar Switches:
- Brown sugar → All white sugar (less chewy)
- White sugar → All brown sugar (more molasses flavor)
- Regular → Coconut sugar (healthier but different taste)
Candy Changes:
- Mini peanut butter cups → Regular size (cut them in half)
- Reese's → Other peanut butter cups (whatever's on sale)
- Peanut butter cups → Chocolate chips (not the same but still good)
- Regular → Dark chocolate peanut butter cups (for fancy people)
Flour Alternatives:
- All-purpose → Whole wheat (makes them denser)
- Regular → Gluten-free flour (for people who can't have gluten)
- Flour → Oat flour (grind up oats in a blender)
Storing Your Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Counter Storage (1 week):
- Let them cool completely first
- Store in airtight containers
- Put wax paper between layers
- They stay soft for days
Fridge Storage (2 weeks):
- Same containers work fine
- Bring to room temperature before eating
- The peanut butter cups get harder when cold
- Still taste good though
Freezing (3 months):
- Freeze in freezer bags
- Layer with wax paper
- Thaw at room temperature
- Taste almost as good as fresh
Make-Ahead Tips:
- You can freeze the cookie dough balls
- Bake straight from frozen (add a minute or two)
- Press in peanut butter cups while still hot
- Great for when you need cookies fast
Equipment
- Electric mixer
- Large mixing bowl
- Cookie sheets
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Cookie scoop or regular spoon
Tasty Twists on Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Double Chocolate:
- Add cocoa powder to the dough
- Use chocolate peanut butter cups
- Makes them extra rich and chocolatey
- oliver thinks these are the best thing ever
Salty Sweet:
- Sprinkle sea salt on top before baking
- Use salted peanut butter instead of regular
- Add pretzel pieces to the dough
- Perfect for people who like that salty-sweet combo
Holiday Version:
- Use seasonal peanut butter cups (like Christmas trees)
- Add red and green sprinkles
- Makes them look festive for parties
- Kids love the colored candy
Stuffed Style:
- Press peanut butter cups into dough balls before baking
- Cover completely with more dough
- Surprise candy in the middle
- Takes more work but looks impressive
Mini Version:
- Make tiny cookie balls
- Use mini-mini peanut butter cups if you can find them
- Perfect for parties or when you want lots of little cookies
- Way more work but people think they're cute
Top Tip
- These peanut butter cup cookies actually get better after sitting for a day - the flavors mix together and they get even softer and chewier.
- If you want to keep them longer, the fridge works fine for up to two weeks. The only thing is that the peanut butter cups get harder when they're cold, so let them sit out for a few minutes before you eat them if you want that melty texture back. You can also freeze these for up to three months - just layer them with wax paper in freezer bags and they thaw out tasting almost as good as fresh.
- The cool thing about these cookies is that you can make the dough ahead of time and freeze it in little balls. When you want fresh cookies, just bake them straight from the freezer and add maybe a minute or two to the baking time. Press the peanut butter cups in while they're still hot from the oven, and nobody will know you didn't make them from scratch that day.
Grandma's Secret Fix Passed Down for Generations (Now It's Yours)
My grandmother had a trick with Peanut Butter Cup Cookies that she learned from her own mother back in the 1940s. While everyone else was making regular peanut butter cookies with fork marks, she'd save up her candy from holidays and press pieces right into the hot cookies. But her real secret wasn't just the candy - it was adding an extra tablespoon of peanut butter to the dough and underbaking them a little so they stayed soft and chewy for weeks.
"Count to 120," she'd say, standing there with her apron full of unwrapped candies. That timing makes the cookies firm enough to hold the shape but still warm enough to melt the chocolate just a little bit. Now when I make these peanut butter cup cookies, I still count to 120 just like Grandma taught me. oliver thinks I'm being weird when I stand there counting, but when he bites into that perfect combination of soft cookie and slightly melted peanut butter cup, he doesn't complain. Sometimes the old ways really are the best ways, especially when they come from someone who spent seventy years getting her cookie recipe just right.
FAQ
Why are Trader Joe's peanut butter cups so good?
Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies use different chocolate and have a creamier peanut butter filling than regular ones. They work great in these cookies too, but they're more expensive than Reese's. Honestly, for baking, the regular Reese's work just as well and cost less.
Why do my peanut butter cookies taste weird?
It's probably the peanut butter you're using. Natural peanut butter can make cookies taste oily or bland because it doesn't have the same consistency as regular peanut butter. Also, if your baking soda is old, it can give cookies a weird metallic taste.
Do the Girl Scouts still sell peanut butter cookies?
Yeah, they still sell Do-si-dos and Tagalongs, but they're only around certain times of the year. These peanut butter cup cookies are way better anyway, and you can make them whenever you want instead of waiting for Girl Scout season.
Why do you put fork marks in peanut butter cookies?
The fork marks help regular peanut butter cup cookies bake evenly by flattening them out. But for these peanut butter cup cookies, you don't need to do that because the peanut butter cup goes in the middle and keeps them from spreading too much.
Time to Make Some Cookie Magic!
Now you've got everything you need to make perfect peanut butter cup cookies - from mixing the dough just right to Grandma Ruth's secret timing trick. These cookies have been a lifesaver for me at so many school events, potluck dinners, and random afternoons when oliver's friends show up hungry. They always disappear fast, and people always ask for the recipe, which makes you feel like a baking expert even though they're actually pretty easy to make.
Want more sweet treats that'll make everyone happy? Try our Easy Strawberry Tart Recipe that looks way fancier than it is but tastes incredible. If you're feeling ambitious, our Easy Pistachio Macaron Recipe breaks down the steps so even beginners can make beautiful macarons. And when you want something light and refreshing, our Healthy Mango Sorbet Recipe: 3 Ingredients proves that simple can be amazing!
Share your Peanut Butter Cup Cookies success! We love seeing your batches and hearing about who ate them all!
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Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Peanut Butter Cup Cookies:
Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Electric mixer (Stand or handheld)
- 1 Large mixing bowl
- 2 Cookie sheets (Unlined or ungreased)
- 1 Measuring cups
- 1 Measuring spoons
- 1 Cookie scoop (Or tablespoon for shaping dough)
- 1 Cooling rack (Optional but recommended)
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter - Softened
- 1 cup Brown sugar - Packed
- 1 cup White sugar
- 1 cup Creamy peanut butter - Or crunchy if preferred
- 2 Eggs - Large
- 2.5 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 0.5 teaspoon Salt
- 24 Mini peanut butter cups - Unwrapped (or more, in case some get eaten)
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugars, add peanut butter and eggs, mix in dry ingredients
- Shape dough into balls, place on baking sheet, preheat oven
- Bake cookies until edges are set, centers slightly underdone
- Press peanut butter cups into hot cookies, cool briefly
- Transfer to rack, let cool completely
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