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Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
This peanut butter cup cookies recipe is a total classic! My mom has had this recipe in her little index binder since I was barely old enough to reach the counter, and I would devour them every single year. This super simple recipe has you bake peanut butter cookies in a mini muffin pan until they’re just barely done, then a Reese’s mini peanut butter cup is pressed into the center; an absolute Christmas staple!
Christmas baking is incredibly nostalgic for me.
Whenever I bake peanut butter blossoms or mini cheesecake cookies, I imagine being about 8 years old, in the kitchen of my old house, watching my mom bake. I can feel the carpet under my toes (yes, back in that house in the mid-80’s, there was carpet in the kitchen, if you can believe it!), I can see the floral painting on the wall, and if I walk around the corner, I can see the silver and blue garland wrapped around the staircase.
There are certain recipes that flat-out have to be made during the holidays, or it’s just not Christmas. Then, there are cookies and candies that make occasional appearances, showing up some years but not others. These peanut butter cup cookies always fell into the latter category, so I was especially excited when I saw them in my mom’s kitchen.
MY OTHER RECIPES
How to Make Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
This is one of the easiest cookie recipes you’ll find, and it’s one that people go crazy about year after year. Here’s what to do!
- Make Peanut Butter Cookie Dough – A simple combination of butter, peanut butter, granulated and brown sugars, along with egg, vanilla, flour, baking soda, and salt is all that’s needed for these basic cookies.
- Roll the Dough Into Balls – The peanut butter cookie dough gets rolled into balls about 1-inch in diameter. You can use a small cookie scoop (it’s literally PERFECT for this!) or measure out about 2 teaspoons of dough.
- Place the Dough Balls Into Mini Muffin Pan – Drop those balls of dough into the wells of a mini muffin pan. Don’t press them down or into the pan, just place them in the center.
- Bake the Cookies – You only need to bake these for 8 to 10 minutes, you want them puffy and pale, that’s the sweet spot!
- Press in the Peanut Butter Cup – The best part of the recipe! As soon as you take the pan out of the oven, press a mini peanut butter cup into the center of each cookie.
Gooey peanut butter cookie meets melty peanut butter cup. It’s cookie and candy perfection, and your Christmas season and cookie trays NEED them!
Peanut Butter Cup Cookies Recipe Notes
- Use a traditional peanut butter such as Jif or Skippy; natural-style peanut butters will be too oily for this recipe.
- A small cookie scoop will portion out the perfect amount of dough.
- If you don’t have a mini muffin pan, you can make these on a traditional cookie sheet, however they will spread out when you press the peanut butter cup in the middle, so you will have less of a tassie-style cookie and more of a regular-size cookie.
- Don’t overbake the cookies! You want them to look puffy and pale when you pull them from the oven; if they get golden brown, the peanut butter cup won’t easily sink down into the cookie.
- Store the peanut butter cup cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.
I dare you to try to wait an appropriate amount of time before popping at least two of these in your mouth. It’s absolutely impossible. Still warm or not, I have to grab one almost immediately. Pay no attention to the melted chocolate on my hands and crumbs around my mouth.
This is the perfect holiday cookie recipe – quick, easy, and yields a ton! Perfect for making numerous cookie trays to take with you on your holiday visits. Enjoy!
If You Like These Peanut Butter Cup Cookies, Try These Recipes:
One year ago: Oreo Balls
Two years ago: Mini Cheesecake Cookies
Five years ago: Peanut Butter Swirl Chocolate Bark
Six years ago: Homemade Torrone
Watch How To Make Peanut Butter Cup Cookies:
Did you make this recipe?
Peanut Butter Cup Cookies Recipe - Peanut butter cookies baked in a mini muffin pan with a mini Reese's cup in the middle; a holiday staple!
- 1ยผ
cups
all-purpose flour
- ยพ
teaspoon
baking soda
- ยฝ
teaspoon
salt
- ยฝ
cup
unsalted butter
(at room temperature)
- ยฝ
cup
- ยฝ
cup
granulated sugar
- ยฝ
cup
light brown sugar
- 1
egg
- 1
teaspoon
vanilla extract
- 48
(unwrapped)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
Beat together the butter, peanut butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the egg and vanilla and mix for another minute or so to combine. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Give the dough a final mix with a rubber spatula to ensure all of the flour is incorporated.
Shape the dough into 1-inch balls (about 2 teaspoons worth of dough) and place in the cups of a
miniature muffin pan (keep the dough in balls - do not press into the pan).
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until light golden brown and slightly puffy. Remove from the oven and immediately press a miniature peanut butter cup in the middle of each cookie, pressing down so that the top of the peanut butter cup is even with the top of the cookie. Cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from the pans, and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- Use a traditional peanut butter such as Jif or Skippy; natural-style peanut butters will be too oily for this recipe.
- A small cookie scoop will portion out the perfect amount of dough.
- If you don't have a mini muffin pan, you can make these on a traditional cookie sheet, however they will spread out when you press the peanut butter cup in the middle, so you will have less of a tassie-style cookie and more of a regular-size cookie.
- Don't overbake the cookies! You want them to look puffy and pale when you pull them from the oven; if they get golden brown, the peanut butter cup won't easily sink down into the cookie.
- Store the peanut butter cup cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutritional values are based on one serving
Calories: 98kcal
Fat: 5g
Saturated fat: 2g
Cholesterol: 8mg
Sodium: 80mg
Potassium: 49mg
Carbohydrates: 11g
Sugar: 7g
Protein: 1g
Vitamin A: 1.4%
Calcium: 1%
Iron: 1.8%
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in December 2012. It was updated in December 2018 with new photos, a video, and extensive recipe tips.
[photos byย Whitney Wright]
my husband is going to LOVE these!
These look soo amazing!! I will definitely be making these soon!
Michelle,
These look so cute. I love old family recipes. Can’t wait to try them. I’m a long time fan amd Twitter follower. You can visit my blog at http://bakewelljunction.wordpress.com
YES! I couldn’t agree more, there’s definitely some recipe that are a must at this time of year. These little cups look so cute I need to try over the holidays :)
http://lyndajanecakes.blogspot.co.uk/
x
These are definitely going on my “must make” list this year. Yumm.
YUM! Anything with a peanut butter cookie PLUS a Reese’s is good in my book :) Can’t wait to try these!
I’d love to try these with a sugar cookie dough and Rollo caramel candies too!
My mom would make a chocolate sugar cookie dough and push a Rolo in the center. Amazing!
I have baked these for years, I do the Pillsbury sugar cookie dough, or any other sugar cookie dough recipe. I also dress them up a bit for the cookie trays. I put a midget wrapper on them(small cupcake paper) sprinkle a little powered sugar and or sprinkles. I have to hind them or they get eaten before i can put them on my trays. They are the request of most my family. I have to take my sister her own batch. I only wish they sold the peanut butter cups unwrapped LOl. You must try them…
In Canada, there are two sizes of RPBCs, the smaller one is unwrapped. They are too small for my combo of cookie and muffin tin. I’ll have to just eat them with no cookie around them!
we do sell the minitures in Canada. Not the super small ones but the next size up
These look DELICIOUS!
These are dangerous! I can pop about 3 of these in one sitting. sigh. What a way to go though…
I can smell these peanut butter cup cookies now!! Thanks for the reminder of a Christmas classic- we love the classics over here! :)
What a gorgeous cookie! I would have no control with these around!!
These are my favorite cookies – except I am lazy and just use Pillsbury peanut butter cookie dough and bake the Reeses right in the dough so the chocolate is all gooey when the come out of the oven. I have one rule in the house – if they break when they come out of the pan, I get to eat them, still hot. I purposely try to break at least one in each pan (:
These are are one of my husband’s “best thing I ever made”…when I use Reese’s Dark
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups!
I’m with him…dark chocolate all day!
These do look easy and yummy! I’d probably have to make them and then taken them to work or else I’d finish them myself!
I had these at a caroling party recently and loved them – so glad to have a recipe for them! Yum!
I’m not a fan of any of the 3 main components of these but they look so good I might have to give them a try!
Mmm, yum!! These look so good and are cute too!
I haven’t baked a Reese’s cup into a cookie in at least…3 months. I’m overdue! Yours look great! I love using muffin tins for cookies or mini whoopie pie pans because the cookies turn out so well!
I love these! I was all ready to make them last year- bought the peanut butter cups and everything. Then never got around to it. They WILL be made this year!