Reese's Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter cookies stuffed with a peanut butter cup in the middle, broken in half and stacked on top of one another

Reese's Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies

These Reese's stuffed peanut butter cookies are big, super soft, extra chewy peanut butter cookies stuffed with an entire peanut butter cup in the middle. Add a drizzle of milk chocolate and Reese's Pieces on top for the perfect bakery-style cookie.

Prep Time30

Cook Time12

Chilling & Freezing1

Total Time2

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Peanut Butter Cup Peanut Butter Cookies, Reese's Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies

Servings: cookies

Author: Fiona Dowling

Equipment

Cookie Sheets

Ingredients

10-12 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups full-sized, not miniatures
½ cup unsalted butter (112 grams) softened
⅔ cup peanut butter smooth, commercially prepared, not natural
½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
½ cup brown sugar (105 grams)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk discard the white
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ cups all-purpose flour (188 grams) spooned and leveled
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 ounces milk chocolate (56 grams) optional
¼ cup Reese's Pieces optional

Instructions

Make the Dough

Place the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in the freezer. This makes for easier handling.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and creamy. There should be no lumps of butter. If your butter is still quite firm before starting, beat the butter on its own first.
Beat the egg, additional egg yolk and vanilla extract into the bowl. Make sure you do not use 2 whole eggs.
Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add in the flour, baking soda and salt. Beat together, starting with the mixer on a low speed.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 48 hours.

Assemble

Scoop about 1½ tablespoons of peanut butter cookie dough and flatten slightly. Place an unwrapped frozen peanut butter cup in the middle. Pinch the dough around the sides of the peanut butter cup.
Scoop out another 1 to 1½ tablespoons of dough and place on top of the peanut butter cup. Mold the dough so that the entire peanut butter cup is encased. Roll into a ball. Ensure that the peanut butter cups stay horizontal!
Cover the dough balls and freeze for at least 30 minutes. Alternatively, place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Again, ensure the peanut butter cups stay horizontal.

Bake

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃). Line cookie trays with parchment paper.
Place the frozen cookie dough balls (do not thaw) at least 2½ inches apart on the lined cookie sheets. (Keep cookie dough balls in the freezer as the first cookie sheet bakes to ensure that they don't start to thaw).
Bake 1 cookie sheet at a time in the middle of the preheated oven. The cookies will bake for about 12-14 minutes, or until the tops look just set.
Cool the cookies on the cookie tray. Do not try to transfer while the cookies are still warm, as they can easily fall apart due to the peanut butter cup.

Decorate

Finely chop the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. Melt in a double boiler (ensure the water underneath does not touch the bowl of the chocolate). Alternatively, melt in the microwave using 45-second intervals on medium power, stirring between each interval. Do not use high power (often the default) as the chocolate can become grainy or burn.
Drizzle the chocolate on top of each cookie (I used a small spoon to do this), and sprinkle the tops with crushed Reese's Pieces.

Notes

Peanut Butter: Be sure to use smooth peanut butter. Do not use anything where the oil sits on top as it can lead to inconsistent results.
Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Freezing: Frozen cookie dough balls can be stored in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 2 months. Always bake from frozen, do not thaw.
Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only, based on 1 cookie with chocolate drizzle and Reese's Pieces on top assuming the recipe yields 12 uniform cookies.

Nutrition