Peanut Butter Cookie Cups

4.86

Jump to Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Peanut Butter Cookie Cups on a wooden tray

Soft peanut butter cookie cups stuffed with chocolate peanut butter cups – these are always a crowd favorite. We keep the dough in the freezer to bake throughout the holidays.

I don’t like to play favorites, but peanut butter cookie cups are definitely a contender. I love them best shown just as they are above and below. Still a bit warm and filled with melty chocolate.

a hand holding a peanut butter cup cookie with a bite taken out

The recipe for this peanut butter dough is printed on an old card from my mom’s recipe box. “From the kitchen of Shirley S.” It is usually the base for peanut blossom cookies (with a Hershey’s kiss on top), but makes amazing, super soft Peanut Butter Cup Cookies. I have no idea who Shirley S. is (thank you for the great recipe, if you’re out there Shirley!), but we’ve made some version of these cookies every year as long as I can remember. It’s a great one for kids to assist with. No matter what age, everyone always loves the job of unwrapping the peanut butter cups.

And sneaking a few…

Peanut Butter Cookie unwrapped in a white bowl

As I mentioned, this dough is super soft. It is rolled in a bit of sugar and baked in a mini muffin tin which makes it bake into perfectly shaped cups.

rolled balls of dough in a mini muffin tin

And a chocolate peanut butter cup is pressed into the warm cookies just after baking.pressing a peanut butter cup into dough

Instant gooey chocolate goodness…

Peanut Butter Cookie Cups in a mini muffin tin

To Freeze

These cookies are great for freezing. Roll the dough into balls and roll the balls in sugar per the directions. Place the balls close together on a sheet pan and freeze until solid. Transfer to a plastic zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months. I also unwrap the peanut butter cups and freeze those in a separate bag so they’re ready to go.

Just bake the dough straight out of the freezer (add 1 to 2 minutes t the bake time).

And serve with a glass of cold milk.

Peanut Butter Cookie Cups next to a small glass of milk

More Chocolate and Peanut Butter Combinations

 

Favorite Tools

Pin this now to save it for later

Pin It Now
Peanut Butter Cookie Cups on a wooden tray
4.86 from 7 votes

Peanut Butter Cookie Cups

Soft peanut butter cookie cups stuffed with chocolate peanut butter cups - these are always a crowd favorite. We keep the dough in the freezer to bake throughout the holidays.
Prep: 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook: 7 minutes
Total: 1 hour 27 minutes
Servings: 48 cookie cups

Equipment

  • Stand or Handheld Mixer
  • Mini Muffin Tins
  • Cooling Rack

Ingredients 

  • 1 3/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 cup Butter, unsalted and softened to room temperature
  • 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar, plus more for rolling dough
  • 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 cup Peanut Butter (see note)
  • 48 Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, unwrapped

Instructions 

  • Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
  • In the bowl of a standing mixer or with a handheld mixer (or by hand) beat the butter until soft and smooth, ~2 minutes. Add both sugars and continue beating until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Add egg and mix on medium until smooth. Add vanilla and mix for 1 minute more.
  • Add peanut butter and mix until smooth.
  • Pour dry ingredients in the bowl and mix on low just until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.
  • Refrigerate the dough until it is firm enough to roll into balls, ~1 hour (see note).
  • If you haven't already, remove chocolate peanut butter cups from their wrappers and set aside.
  • Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
  • Fill a shallow bowl or dish with granulated sugar. Roll dough into balls 1 1/2 inch in diameter (they should be about 1 Tbsp of dough each).
  • Place dough balls into prepared mini muffin tin. Bake until dough has filled out the tin and is just barely golden on top, 6 to 8 minutes.
  • As soon as you remove the dough balls, press chocolate peanut butter cups into the dough. Let cool for a few minutes and then remove cookie cups from the baking tin. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Notes

I prefer creamy peanut butter for these. Note that this recipe does not work as well if using natural peanut butter.
When I'm in a rush, I often roll this dough into balls right away and skip the refrigeration step. The dough is very soft without the refrigeration, so I use a spoon to scoop out even sized portions of dough and drop them straight into the sugar. Once they are gently rolled in sugar, they are easier to pick up and roll into balls. They can be baked right away, but will be done on the lower end of the cook time, likely right at 6 minutes.
To freeze, form the dough into balls and roll them in sugar. Place the dough balls on a sheet pan and freeze until firm. Transfer to a plastic zip-top bag and freeze for up to three months. They can be baked straight out of the freezer but will need an extra minute or two added to the bake time.
Print and attach the label below so cooking instructions are ready when you are!
peanut butter cookie cups freezer label

Nutrition

Calories: 104kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 107mg | Potassium: 51mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 68IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Author: Jess Smith via Inquiring Chef
Cost: $5.00
Calories: 104
Keyword: chocolate and peanut butter, Christmas, cookies
Like this? Leave a comment below!Jump to Comments

One more from decorating the Christmas tree this weekend!
Clara holding a Christmas ornament

*This post contains affiliate links*

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Want to save this recipe?
Get it emailed to you directly! Enter your email below.

About Jess Smith

Jess is the recipe creator and photographer at InquiringChef.com. She spent nearly a decade as the Chief Recipe Developer for the award-winning meal planning app Cook Smarts. Her colorful, healthyish recipes have been featured in popular online publications including Parade, Hallmark, and HuffPost.

4.86 from 7 votes (4 ratings without comment)

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

6 Comments

  1. 4 stars
    my husband and I followed this recipe exactly and used a 1TBSP cookie scoop. It’s possible we slightly overfilled the scoop. However, this only made 41 cookies. Still very delicious.

  2. 5 stars
    Oh what fun these look to be. A combination of two great sweets. Alas, we don’t have the small peanut cups here, but we have a candy that’s very Swedish called Dumle (https://www.fazer.com/our-brands/dumle/). They are a caramel with a slight hint of coconut that are then covered in chocolate. Very additive.
    My question is, do you know how much by weight the peanut butter cups are? My thought is that I could use an equal amount of Dumle in place of the peanut butter cups. Thanks for another great holiday cookie post. I’m sharing this one on FB.

  3. The preparation steps call for adding vanilla and milk, but after rereading the list of ingredients, there is no milk listed,

    1. Thanks so much for catching that. The original recipe actually calls for 2 Tbsp of milk added to the batter, but that’s the only change I make from the original. The recipe is now updated and correct. Thanks again!