Peanut Butter Cup Cookies are a holiday favorite and so easy to make! Loaded with plenty of peanut butter and chocolate flavor, these bite-size, poppable treats are the perfect addition to any holiday cookie plate.
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We love all the classic holiday Christmas cookies, even if you really don't need an excuse to make these year-round. These Reese's peanut butter cup cookies are a fun variation on our classic peanut butter blossoms. In fact, the cookie dough is the same recipe, the only difference is baking these in a mini muffin pan and pressing an unwrapped mini Reese's peanut butter cup into each one!
This results in a bite-size cookie that is slightly more dense (in the best possible way) with a peanut butter and chocolate core. Kids love helping with this one!
You might also know them as Reese's peanut butter temptations and a recipe for them is on the back of the big bag of Reese's miniature cups.
What You'll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar - A combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar gives the best flavor.
- Salted butter
- Creamy peanut butter - I like the regular kind, not the natural peanut butter that you have to stir before using.
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Unwrapped Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
How to Make Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Cream ingredients. Beat the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and peanut butter together in a large mixing bowl until creamy and light, about 1-2 minutes. It's much easier using an stand mixer or handheld mixer.
- Add milk, vanilla, and egg. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the milk, vanilla extract, and egg, then beat again to combine.
- Add dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the cookie dough. Beat just until combined.
- Shape into balls. Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to shape 1-inch balls of dough and place them into the cups of a mini muffin pan. I don't bother to spray my muffin pan before adding the dough to them.
- Bake. The cookies only bake for 8-9 minutes at 375 degrees F until they lose their glossy shine on top. Don't overbake.
- Press a peanut butter cup into each cookie. While the cookies are still hot out of the oven, press an unwrapped mini peanut butter cup into the center of each warm cookie. The candy will melt but evenly it will set up again as the cookies cool. Use a small, sharp knife to help remove the cookies from the pan.
Recipe FAQ's
Absolutely! You could switch out the peanut butter cookie dough for my chocolate brownie cookie dough or a classic chocolate chip cookie dough and they would be so fun!
It's a good practice to get into and will definitely give you better results for your baking in the long run, but if I'm being 100% honest I will sometimes make these by dumping ALL of the ingredients into my stand mixer and letting it run for 3 minutes until everything is combined. They are super forgiving and you can't really tell the difference with this particular recipe.
Tips for Success
- Have your peanut butter cups unwrapped and ready to go. You don't want to be stuck unwrapping every peanut butter cup while the cookies are cooling since they go in best while the cookies are still warm. You can actually even buy bags of unwrapped peanut butter cups!
- Let them set up. Okay, definitely eat at least 2 or 3 while they are molten and warm, but if you are taking these somewhere they need at least an hour to cool down so the chocolate can firm up again.
- You can make the dough ahead and freeze it. The dough freezes beautifully, although I recommend scooping it out in little balls and putting them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper before freezing. Then after an hour or two you can throw the balls of frozen dough into a freezer-safe bag for longer-term storage. Bake straight from frozen by just adding an extra minute or two to the baking time.
Storage and Freezing Instructions
Once the cookies have cooled completely, they can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
The baked cookies also freeze well for up to 2 months so they are great for making ahead. Let them thaw on the counter at room temperature for 2-3 hours before serving.
More Peanut Butter Recipes
- Peanut Butter White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Whirligigs
- No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie
- Smooth and Creamy Easy Peanut Butter Fudge
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter, softened (114g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- ½ cup brown sugar (100g)
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter (120g)
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour (247g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 40 unwrapped mini Reese's peanut butter cups
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Unwrap the mini Reese's peanut butter cups and set aside.
- Combine butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, egg, milk, vanilla extract, flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix with an electric mixer until combined.
- Scoop out small, tablespoon size amounts of dough and roll into balls. Place each ball into one of the cups of a mini muffin pan. Bake for 8-9 minutes until puffy and no longer glossy on top. Don't overbake.
- Immediately upon removing the cookies from the oven, gently press an unwrapped mini Reese's peanut butter cup into the center of each cookie. It will melt from the heat of the cookie and then eventually harden again as the cookies cool completely.
Notes
- Storage: Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freezing cookies: You can freeze peanut butter cup cookies once they have completely cooled, and the chocolate is solid again. Simply put them in an airtight container in a single layer and keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Freezing cookie dough: Alternatively, you can freeze peanut butter cookie dough balls for up to 3 months by placing the balls on a baking tray and in the freezer until solid. Then, remove the tray from the freezer and put the frozen cookie dough balls in a Ziploc bag and back in the freezer for up to 2-3 months.
