Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: Like a cookie and peanut butter cup had a delicious baby.
Texture: Thick, soft, slightly chewy, with the perfect amount of peanut butter without getting stuck to the roof of your mouth.
Ease: There’s some extra prep and assembly, but this recipe is truly fun to make.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: Move over Crumbl, these bakery-style cookies will have your friends begging for more.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
If you’re looking for a knock-your-socks-off cookie recipe, you’ve found it. Just read what my photographer texted me mid-shoot:
“My husband says the cookies are ‘the best thing he’s ever eaten.’”
Sometimes recipe ideas come to me in a daydream. I was working on my Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe and caught a glimpse of my Nutella Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies. You can quickly see where my mind went.
For this recipe, I experimented with freezing scoops of peanut butter mixed with powdered sugar (a similar filling to my homemade Peanut Butter Cup recipe). While the scoops froze, I made the dough.
I experimented with a few different techniques for wrapping the dough around the frozen peanut butter scoops. First, I wrapped the dough fully, so the filling would be a surprise inside.
Ultimately, I decided to leave some of the peanut butter peeking out so the cookies would be marbled with the contrasting peanut butter interior. Not only did they look beautiful, but they whet your appetite for chocolate + peanut butter goodness.
If you’re curious about the science behind baking and learning some new cookie tips, keep reading.
Key Recipe Ingredients
Peanut Butter:
- This recipe was successfully tested with well-stirred natural peanut butter (Kirkland) as well as conventional peanut butter (Skippy).
- Scoop dollops of peanut butter and freeze them while preparing the dough.
- Natural peanut butter will give a bolder peanut butter flavor, but the scoops of peanut butter will be stickier than conventional peanut butter.
- If your scoops get sticky while handling, just return to the freezer to re-solidify.
Cocoa Powder: I opted for natural cocoa powder in this recipe, which creates more chewiness and complements the peanut butter flavor in the most delightfully nostalgic way.
To avoid dry cookies, weigh your cocoa powder (and flour!) if possible. If not, spoon and level the cocoa into your measuring cup to avoid compacting too much extra cocoa, which will dry out your cookies.
Learn more about the differences between natural vs. Dutch-processed cocoa here.
Sprinkle of Science
Most cookies are baked at 350°F, but not this recipe. Baking slightly bigger scoops (3 tablespoons) of dough at a higher temperature creates ultra-thick cookies. I learned this method from Levain cookies in NYC. The higher temperature sets the exterior of the cookie before it can spread much, allowing the inside to remain soft and fudgy.
Storage & Make ahead
Store: Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Freeze: Place the pre-portioned, already-chilled scoops of cookie dough in an airtight container and freeze for up to 1 month. Bake from frozen at 380°F for 10 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and bang on the counter a few times, then put back in the oven for an additional minute. This will help the cookies to spread appropriately and showcase the peanut butter interior.
Email This Recipe
Enter your email, and we’ll send it to your inbox.
Ingredients
For the peanut butter filling:
- 3/4 cup (203 grams) creamy peanut butter
- 6 tablespoons (47 grams) powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the cookie dough:
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (143 grams) all-purpose flour*
- 2/3 cup (57 grams) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup (170 grams) semisweet chocolate chips, plus more for garnish
- Flaky sea salt, for finishing, optional
Instructions
Prepare the filling:
- In a medium bowl, use a stiff spatula to vigorously stir the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until well combined.
- Using a small 1-tablespoon scoop, drop the mixture by thirteen scoops onto a small parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Freeze for at least one hour while you prepare the dough.
Prepare the cookie dough:
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, microwave the butter in 20-second bursts until melted. Whisk in the brown sugar. Let cool until just warm.
- Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until completely smooth and combined. With a rubber spatula, stir in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Fold in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. This higher temperature helps create thick cookies.
- Using a large spring-loaded scoop, drop 3-tablespoon balls of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten each ball of dough and place a peanut butter ball in the center. Cover in the dough, leaving some peanut butter peeking out. Flatten slightly. Dot generously (more than you think!) with additional chocolate chips.
- If the peanut butter balls become too warm at any point, return to the freezer and return the cookie dough to the fridge until firm enough to handle.
- Bake for about 8 minutes or until just set. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle each cookie with sea salt. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
- Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
More Cookie Recipes You’ll Love:
- Double Chocolate Cookies
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Strawberry Swirl Cookies
- Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies
More Chocolate Recipes You’ll Love:
This recipe was originally published in 2011 (!) and updated in 2025 with a complete recipe overhaul and new photos. Photography by Jess Gaertner.
OMG- I only had crunchy TJ’s PB but it didn’t matter. These are freaking aHmazing. Used @becky’s measurements (a woman after my heart- measuring everything). Froze them assembled for 20 minutes before baking do 9.5 minutes. 👩🍳 😘
The cookies had good flavor, but the texture of these was way off. The chocolate cookie part seemed so dry, it baked up weird and when I got a bite with the peanut butter center it became so claggy in my mouth, it was not enjoyable to chew
Hi Kaylee! To avoid dry cookies next time, weigh your cocoa powder and flour — it’s so easy to accidentally add too much of these if you’re not using a digital scale! If you don’t have a scale, spoon them into your measuring cup and level it off instead of scooping directly from the container. That little adjustment should help them stay soft and chewy next time, and the peanut butter center will stay nice and creamy with the right cocoa/flour balance. Let us know how it goes!
A star for the concept, a star for the chocolate, and a star for the peanut butter. But the recipe – blah! Very sticky dough. Even the frozen peanut butter makes a mess.
I had sixteen 1T peanut butter balls, and thirteen 3T cookies, so there seems to be a mismatch. There seems to be no point in flattening the 3T balls of dough; just press a big thumbprint in the ball so there is someplace for that huge ball of peanut to go. Then, you can fold the edges of the dough over the peanut butter and reshape the cookie.
Other than the use of actual peanut butter (and having the option of using ‘crunchy’), I would think it easier to just use peanut butter chips. (I tried using peanut butter Meltables but didn’t care for the results.) I also added some orange coloring to my peanut butter as these were for a Halloween party. I think I could have gone a little darker.
Do you prefer natural or “regular” peanut butter in these? What’s your go-to?
Hi Amie! Tessa loves using Kirkland’s natural peanut butter (well-stirred) for this recipe, but we’ve also tested it using Skippy! Both work great 🙂
These cookies are so easy to make and absolutely delicious! They even tasted delicious on day 4 in my airtight container. They taste just like a peanut butter cup. My family loves them and they are a new favorite. Thank you, Tessa! 🙂
I’m so thrilled to hear that, Stephanie!
These were fun to make, and they look like they came from a bakery! Even those who usually don’t like chocolate cookies actually loved these because the peanut butter/chocolate combo is magical. I like to use a scale instead of scoops, so the peanut butter centers were ~19 grams each and the 13 chocolate cookie dough portions were 58g each.
Thanks for those measurements! They’re going to be so helpful!
Gorgeous photos, Becky!! I’m glad it was a hit all around 🙂
Can these be made slightly smaller??
I haven’t tested that yet, but you would definitely need to cut down the baking time. If you give it a shot, let me know how it goes!
Thanks Becky.I made these twice and both times was short 1 pb scoop. I weighed mine last time and came in at about 60 for the dough so your 58 is spot on. I will shoot for 19 on the pb
This is a great cookie. I followed the recipe perfectly! Next time I will make 20 small scoops. The cookies were so good, but way too big to eat all at once. Great recipe, Tessa. Thank you.
I’m so glad to hear that, Wendy!
I noticed that the comments people have made are from many years ago. I was under the impression that you recently designed these cookies. They look delicious, but I guess I’m confused.
Hi Lucy, please see the note beneath the recipe card. This recipe was completely overhauled today with a brand new recipe and brand new photos, as well as re-written text. We typically only delete old comments if they reference something no longer specifically relevant to the recipe. Hope that answers your question!
Thank you! When it comes to baking I generally avoid “natural” peanut butter because the oil usually separates too easily.
Oh yummy. These are just delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Simon
It is tastes good! Thanks !
[…] kiss or some other delectable chocolate bite in the center. What everybody hasn’t tried yet is a Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Cookie. Put these cookies in the oven, chill a glass of milk, and your mouth will begin watering with […]