Soft and chewy dark chocolatey cookies loaded with peanut butter chips and a mouthwatering peanut butter butterscotch center!
Chocolate and peanut butter…can you think of a more iconic pairing than this duo?
Whether you love Reese’s peanut butter cups, peanut butter M&Ms, Nutty Buddy Bars, or dipping your Oreos into a jar of creamy peanut butter (Parent Trap, anyone?), there’s really no shortage when it comes to ways to satisfy your chocolate peanut butter cravings. And in the world of desserts, well, the possibilities are pretty much endless!
From cupcakes and cake to bars and brownies, I’ve definitely built up quite the repertoire of chocolate peanut butter treats over the years. However, I still hadn’t created a good classic chocolate peanut butter cookie.
That is, until now…
Extra THICK, supremely soft, and undeniably fudgy, these chocolate peanut butter cookies are a delicious force to be reckoned with. Loaded with melty peanut butter chips and a mouthwatering peanut butter butterscotch center, these cookies are literally dripping with peanut buttery goodness!
So how does one make the BEST chocolate peanut butter cookie in the entire world? (Not to toot my own horn or anything.)
Well, let’s start with the ultra fudgy chocolate cookie dough, shall we?
First, you’ll combine all your dry ingredients–all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Unless if it’s red velvet, I almost always go with a Dutch-processed cocoa powder. It provides a deeper richness than natural cocoa powder, and I love how dark and almost black it makes the cookies look. Thankfully, these days you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg on those fancy schmancy Dutch-processed cocoas in overpriced grocery stores. Hershey actually makes a fantastic Dutch-processed cocoa powder, and you can find it at pretty much any grocery store. Technically, it’s a “blend of natural and Dutched cocoas”, but it still achieves the same results as its more expensive counterparts.
The next step is to cream the butter and sugar together. I like to use half granulated and half brown sugar because it combines the best of both worlds. The granulated sugar ensures that the cookies spread nicely as they bake, and the brown sugar adds extra moistness for that perfectly chewy bite.
After the eggs and vanilla have been incorporated into the dough, instant chocolate pudding mix is added. Pudding mix is one of my favorite pantry staples because it’s excellent for baking. Not only does it bake up some of the softest, puffiest cookies around, but it also adds more flavor and sweetness to the cookie.
Once the dry ingredients have been combined with the wet ingredients, 3/4 cup peanut butter chips are added. Now, this might seem like a pretty skimpy amount of peanut butter chips, but you also have to remember that we’re going to stuff these cookies with a peanut butter butterscotch filling as well. FURTHERMORE, we’ll be adding even more peanut butter chips right after the cookies have baked in the oven. More on that later!
Now let’s talk about the heavenly filling that goes inside each one of these chocolate gems. All you have to do is place some peanut butter and butterscotch chips into a bowl and heat in the microwave until smooth and melted. Then you’ll chill the mixture in the refrigerator until it’s firm enough to scoop. This should take about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so. Once the filling has cooled and firmed up, scoop out tablespoon-sized balls and place them onto a wax paper or parchment paper-lined plate. Freeze the balls until solid.
Stuffing the cookie dough with the filling is actually quite simple. Just take about two tablespoons of dough, flatten it between the palms of your hand, then place a peanut butter butterscotch ball into the center. Wrap the dough around the ball, then roll the whole thing into a nice ball. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling, then chill in the refrigerator for one hour.
Just before baking, I like to press the dough balls down so they look like little hockey pucks. I tried baking them as is (ball-shaped), and they baked up just fine, but I noticed that flattening them slightly achieved a more even spread.
Right after the cookies come out of the oven, I like to insert more peanut butter chips into the tops of each cookie. The reason this is done AFTER baking rather than before is because exposed chips tend to burn in the oven. Also, it’s much easier to add the chips when the cookies have spread out.
The cookies need about 20 minutes to cool before they’re ready to devour. This will ensure that the filling has had enough time to set so it doesn’t run everywhere when you bite into the cookie. Although, that might not be such a bad thing…
Once the cookies have cooled completely, the peanut butter butterscotch center will be firm, yet still soft. However, if you prefer that heavenly ooey gooey filling experience as seen in these photographs, just heat each cookie in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds.
Bon Appétit!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Truffle Filling:
- 1 ¼ cup butterscotch chips
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
Dough:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 (3.56 oz) package instant chocolate pudding mix (dry)
- ¾ cup peanut butter chips plus more for topping
Instructions
Make the truffle filling:
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper; set aside.
- Place butterscotch chips and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute; stir until smooth. Place mixture in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes, stirring about every 15 minutes, until mixture is firm enough to scoop.
- Scoop mixture into roughly Tablespoon-sized balls and place onto prepared pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Make the dough:
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together until combined; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. Add in both sugars and mix on high for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition until combined. Add in the vanilla. Then stir in the pudding mix.
- With mixer set on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture into the wet mixture until everything has been incorporated. Remove bowl from the mixer, and stir in peanut butter chips by hand.
- Scoop out about 2 Tablespoons of dough per cookie (about the size of a golfball), then place it onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat process with the rest of the dough. Chill for about 10 minutes, then flatten each mound of dough into a disc.
- Place a frozen truffle filling ball onto a dough disc, then wrap to seal all the edges. Gently roll into a ball, then place back onto the baking sheet*. Chill dough balls in the refrigerator for at one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and space the dough balls 2 inches apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Gently press the tops of each ball, so they look like little hockey pucks. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until puffed and done around the edges. Press a few more peanut butter chips into the tops of each cookie, if desired.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Let the cookies rest for 15 minutes before serving.