Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

I'm a big fan of chocolate and peanut butter. I've made Peanut Butter Cup Brownies and Chocolate Peanut Butter Half and Half Cookies, but I thought it was time for some Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies. These cookies are rich and fudgy with just the right amount of peanut butter in each bite.

Peanut butter cups are chopped and added to the chocolate batter so that each bite has a hint of salty sweetness. I like to use mini peanut butter cups because they're taller, ruffled sides add more texture to the dough, but you can use about half the amount of regular sized peanut butter cups if you like.

These cookies come together really quickly and taste delicious! They're a definite crowd pleaser for anyone that loves chocolate and peanut butter.

A FEW NOTES BEFORE WE GET STARTED

• Room Temperature Ingredients:
  • Butter: It’s important that your butter is softened. In a pinch, you can put your butter in the microwave for about 5 seconds on each side, but watch closely to make sure it is just softening and not melting.
  • Eggs: You want to make sure that your eggs are at room temperature to ensure that they are properly incorporated into your batter. If you forget to leave them out before you start baking, place them in a bowl of warm water for about 15 minutes until they become room temperature.

• Measuring Your Ingredients: I strongly encourage that you use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients and ensure that you have the most accurate measurements possible.
  • However, if you don’t have a scale on hand and will be using cup measurements, make sure to use the “spoon and sweep” method when measuring to avoid packing in too much of any dry ingredient.

• Oven Temperature: Make sure to preheat your oven for at least 15 minutes before you start baking.
  • I recommend purchasing an oven thermometer to get to know your oven so you can adjust your baking temperatures accordingly. Some ovens run slightly warmer or colder so its important to know yours to make sure your baked goods come out right.

• Check out My Favorite Baking Tools to see what I use when I bake.

Let's bake! Start off by preheating your oven to 350º F. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, and melted chocolate on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.

With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture and mix until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Stir in about ¾ of the chopped peanut butter cups, making sure to save the rest for the tops of the cookies.

Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, form cookies into balls and place each cookie on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Add the rest of the chopped peanut butter cups to the tops of each cookie.

Place each cookie a few inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until cookies are firm around the edges. Let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes on the baking sheet before carefully moving them to a cooling rack. Enjoy!