Buckeye Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
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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: 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[/donotprint]
Buckeye Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 1½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (43 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) salt
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
- ½ cup (110 g) light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (64.5 g) creamy peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Filling:
- ¾ cup (193.5 g) creamy peanut butter
- ¾ cup (90 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Amazing cookies!!! Would it work if I make dough ahead of time and put it in the fridge?
Fill them the next day I’m going to bake them?
Love your recipes! You have a beautiful family!
Thank you for all your hard work! 💕
Aw you are so sweet, thank you for the kind words. Yes, you could make the dough ahead of time and then fill/bake the next day. Enjoy!
If you love chocolate and peanut butter, watch out. These are very addictive. Easy to make. This is definitely a keeper.
I just made a double batch of these cookies and I must say they came out beautifully! You definetly need to “flatten” them a little, it makes them look even more amazing. Can’t wait to give them a try. I’m making a big batch fir the holidays, thanks Brown Eyed Baker!!
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!
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!
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.
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:)
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!
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! :)
Great recipe! Makes the list for Christmas because it stays moist and will package well.