Buckeye Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Peanut butter and chocolate. Chocolate and peanut butter. I don’t foresee any point in my life where I will be able to pass up that combination. My favorite candy has long been peanut butter cups, and my favorite holiday treats have always been buckeyes – those awesome peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate. I can’t be trusted around either one – I’ll down more than I can count. When I saw these cookies on Pinterest, I fell in love immediately. They’re essentially the cookie version of a buckeye or peanut butter cup. A chewy chocolate cookie with a fabulously creamy peanut butter center, these are absolutely irresistible.
These cookies don’t take very long to mix together and are ready in no time. I couldn’t help sampling them warm, fresh from the oven. They’re great at room temperature, too and I can tell you from experience that they make excellent road trip snacks if you find yourself driving over 1,000 miles. Chocolate and cookies are always a requirement 😉
One year ago:Â Triple Chocolate Oreo Chunk Cookies
Two years ago: Pan-Fried Onion Dip
Three years ago: Potato Salad with Herbed Balsamic Vinaigrette
Five years ago: The Chocolate Chip Cookie
Buckeye Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Ingredients:
For the Cookies:
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar (plus more for rolling)
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Filling:
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- With an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter, sugars and peanut butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and mix until combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, mix together the peanut butter and powdered sugar for the filling until smooth.
- In a small bowl, put some extra granulated sugar for rolling the cookies.
- Use a medium cookie scoop (or heaping tablespoon) of cookie dough and flatten it with your hands. Take about 1 teaspoon of the peanut butter filling (or a small cookie scoop) and place it in the center of the chocolate dough. Wrap the chocolate dough around the peanut butter center, pressing to seal. Roll the cookie into a ball and roll in the sugar. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Flatten each cookie slightly with the palm of your hand.
- Bake for 7 to 9 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
MY OTHER RECIPES(Recipe adapted from Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen)
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Peanut butter stuffed in the middle of of choc cookies – cannot go wrong with these!
My bf just adores chocolate and peanut butter. I like it too but buckeyes hold a special yummy place for me. They sell them at Cracker Barrel and they were always my go to quick energy treat when I waited tables there. These cookies I must try.
Erin – ekcantcook.blogspot.com
Oh my goodness these look amazing! I absolutely love buckeyes at Christmastime but I want to make these before then!
I can’t be trusted around buckeyes, either…so these I should definitely stay away from..but I won’t! 🙂
These sound fantastic! I was looking for something to take with my on my next journey. I’ve found it!
” I don’t foresee any point in my life where I will be able to pass up that combination.” … my thoughts exactly! My best friend is from Ohio and she is OBSESSED with buckeyes. I need to make these cookies for her birthday!
These look so tasty!! Yum!
WHAT!? Seriously? These are genius! How did I never think of this?
The is pretty much zero chance that I won’t make these.
I cannot be trusted around buckeyes at Christmas time either! There would seriously be none left for anyone else. Buckeyes in cookie form? Man, so dangerous!
Yum! I would love to bite into a cookie and find a PB filling!!
I make these and everyone loves them. We call them Magic Middles. They are one of my favorite cookies. YUMMY!! 🙂
a girl after my own heart… i think i fainted when i saw these <3
Delicious! I think the hubs would love these!
Yum! Thx! Question: is the p butter salted or unsalted? Can’t wait to make these.
Hi Michele, The peanut butter was regular JIF, so it was salted.
I felt like I was in a baking rut and didn’t know what to make this week until now! Thanks for the inspiration, these look absolutely amazing!
My daughter is a freshman at Ohio State University so I’ll be sending her a batch of these this week!
What an awesome cookie!! My best friend’s husband is from Ohio and I know he’d LOVE these!
my kids would love these!
Oh. My. God.
I can’t wait to try these at the earliest available opportunity!
Oooh, I love the cracked look on these cookies. And the filling – heaven!
Pinned to my must make cookies list! Thanks!!
Being from Ohio, I grew up with Buckeyes being present at pretty much every occasion. I love seeing them in cookie form – pretty awesome.
Awesome adaptation of the classic buckeye. You’re totally right – there is nothing better than peanut butter and chocolate!
Agree 100% best combination ever.
I love these cookies, and now reminded to make them again!! Hope you’re having a great trip, Michelle! 🙂
Do you think these can be made ahead of time, frozen and then baked right from the freezer?
Yes, I think that would work!
Awesome recipe!
I’m agree, chocolate and peanut butter are a perfect combination, but it is also peanut butter with Nutella, I don’t know which one is better for me. Ok, what I know now is that this recipe is a MUST.
I made these tonight and they look okay (and smell wonderful!). I have a question, though. The chocolate cookie dough was crumbly and I was wondering if perhaps I used too little peanut butter. Should it have been more cohesive?
LOVE your blog!
Hi Amy, The dough isn’t a very sticky dough, but it shouldn’t have crumbled either. If you have that problem again, try adding a splash of milk to the dough to bring it together.
I made these last night, and they turned out great. The only change I made to the recipe was the addition of one egg yolk after reading comments on the source blog that the dough was a bit dry. The dough and the filling were easy to shape and roll for me, and the warm finished product was amazing. I got about 20 3-inch cookies from this recipe.
Thanks for the tip. Despite the initial dryness they got rave reviews from my coworkers here in Columbus OH …Buckeye experts! So I know they must be better than good.
Buckeyes are a favorite over here, especially growing up in Ohio and going to Ohio State Univ! Love this twist on a classic. I think I would like these better than the actual buckeye candy.
These look absolutely irresistible! I can’t imagine how good that gooey peanut butter filling tastes hot out of the oven!
I made these cookies. The taste was good but I did not have the cracks on the sides that enhance the look of the cookie. How to do this?
I put mine in the oven for 9 minutes and also didn’t have the cracks. I left them in for another minute and a half and voilà ! They were perfect.
See Sharon’s comment below; also, when you’re flattening the balls of dough, you can gently press on them until they start to crack around the edges.
These look and sound delicious. I bet they are amazing if you eat one while they are still warm! Trying soon.
I made these TWICE in five days. TWICE. So much for losing the baby weight. I was a super star among my friends this week thanks to this recipe. I was worried because I only had crunchy peanut butter but it still worked out. Thanks so much for such a delicious recipe!!
i just made these and holy cow – they are DELICIOUS. i agree that they need an extra egg – my dough was far too crumbly with just one. thanks for a great recipe!
What an awesome idea… peanut butter and chocolate are the perfect couple!
😛 I am drooling! YUM!
I made these and they got RAVE reviews from everyone who received one. I did add an egg yolk to the chocolate mixture and that worked well. I also made the peanut butter filling beforehand and froze it as little balls. I took them out of the freezer as I needed them. This made the cookies more rounded, but they still tasted fantastic!
I just made these, and I didn’t change anything to the recipe. They turned out great and were incredibly easy to make. The peanut butter filling seemed crumbly, but in the end it worked out. Thanks!
My son loves buckeyes. Have to try this recipe for him. Thanks for posting.
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I just have to say this is one of my favorite. And my fave list ain’t that long. Just love the peanut butter-choco combo in my mouth. So does everyone else in the house!. Great cookie recipe.
Made these for the first time tonight, and the prep time was nearly an hour and a half for me, however my boyfriend and I love to make everything perfect when baking… But I can successfully say that these are the greatest cookies I have ever had in my life! Totally worth all of the effort and time put into it. They were absolutely mouth watering when hot, I wonder what they’ll taste like later today after being cooled for a bit. This seems to be the only cookie I can successfully cook at High Altitude, and come out utterly delicious and packed with flavor. Thanks so much for the amazing recipe!! ♥
I made these and they were all gone in a day! Best cookies and they have family approval(:
I made these several times since you posted the recipe and everyone loves them but tonight I went to make a batch and I didn’t have enough peanut butter so I substituted Nutella… Oh Em Gee! I had to wing the measurements a little bit but they came out a little softer and they taste like a hazelnut brownie. So amazing… I dare say that I liked them better than the peanut butter version!
My friends and I followed your recipe, made these yesterday and they were FAB! I couldn’t believe how could they were! I don’t think they made 2 dozen but doesn’t matter. Will definitely be making these again soon. Thank you! From UK x
I just made these and had to sample one warm out of the oven – it melted in my mouth. Delicious!
These are amazing!!! I added a little splash of milk to the dough, and they came out just fine. It made two dozen, and between the company we served them to and ourselves, they are GONE! I do have a bit of the peanut butter filling leftover, and I’m thinking a spoon and some chocolate chips will finish it off! 😉 These are going into the “favorite recipes” notebook!
These look so amazing! My granny always made Buckeyes and passed the recipe down to all of us. I do both with rice krispies and without every year for the holidays! These cookies will absolutely thrill my family! Thank you!! 😀
I just made these with dark chocolate cocoa powder and raw almond butter for the filling. Plus I substituted 1/2 cup of all purpose flour for white whole wheat flour…. they are AMAZING!!!!! Perfect.
Great recipe! Makes the list for Christmas because it stays moist and will package well.
So, so good–and the dough is awesome to sample too! For some reason I had a lot of the peanut butter filling left over. It didn’t go to waste–tastes divine as a pretzel dip! 🙂
Made these cookies for the holidays…put them in the freezer so we didn’t eat them all before Christmas! They were absolutely fabulous! Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe! Also, made the nut roll and the walnut pillows – spectacular. The thumbprints were a little hard and I even baked them a minute or two less than the time suggested. But the taste was still good. Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
I’m not a huge peanutbutter cookie fan, but I love the combo of chocolate and PB, preferably with a higher chocolate to PB ratio. So, I tried these, and they are wonderful. Right up my alley:)
I have a question. Is there anyway to substitute white chocolate for the cocoa powder? Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Tiffany, No, there definitely is not a way to substitute white chocolate for the cocoa powder.
My mother made these when I was a kid, and now every year I have to make at least a double batch. They never last long!
Followed the directions  to the letter,  until  I got to the part about using a small scoop roll the chocolate dough into balls. I knew I’d never be patient enough to roll the cookies into the right shape, as described in the recipe. I started thinking that I’ve made bar cookies before from other cookie recipes. So, I started thinking, if I divide the chocolate dough in half, spread it out in an 11×9 pan, top it with the peanut butter mixture & finish with the remainder of the chocolate dough. I baked them for 20 minutes & they’re SO good! Now I feel kind of bad for being lazy but they’re really good!