Peanut Butter Cookie Cups are an easy bite-sized dessert made with just two ingredients: refrigerated cookie dough and peanut butter cups. Featuring a golden cookie exterior with a gooey chocolate peanut butter center, they’re soft, chewy, and completely irresistible!
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Pin RecipePeanut Butter Cookie Cups are soft-baked with a thick cookie cup base that holds the semi-melted peanut butter cups in place. Once assembled and baked, you’re left with a golden cookie cup filled with softened chocolate peanut butter centers! Could you ask for anything better?!
And if you love the idea of this recipe, why not also try my equally irresistible Peanut Butter Cup Brownies?! It’s the same concept with inverse flavor placement—a chocolate brownie cup base and a gooey peanut butter center!
Peanut Butter Cookie Cups Recipe
This dessert calls for just two main ingredients, one of which is refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough for added convenience. If you prefer making these treats entirely from scratch, feel free to use my Peanut Butter Cookies recipe to make your cookie dough ahead of time!
Similar to these Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies, you can easily use a different version of peanut butter cups such as white chocolate or dark chocolate varieties for a delicious and easy twist!
If you aren’t careful, it’s pretty easy to devour an entire tray of these peanut butter cookie cups in a single day! In fact, you might want to go ahead and make a double batch, because they disappear fast.
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Ingredients for Peanut Butter Cookie Cups
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough – You can also make your own peanut butter cookie dough for this recipe.
- Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
- Cooking spray – Optional, for greasing the muffin tin.
Variations
- Gluten-free refrigerated cookie dough can be used for this recipe when catering to gluten sensitivities.
- Reece’s peanut butter cups are just one brand of peanut butter cups that you could use for these cookie cups. Feel free to use your preferred brand or one that suits your dietary needs.
- Sugar cookie dough, chocolate cookie dough, chocolate chip cookie dough, or peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough can be used to make these delicious treats.
- Roll the cookie balls in granulated sugar before pressing them into the mini muffin tin. This will give the baked cookie cups a fancy finish!
- Experiment with different candy fillings for a fun and delicious twist.
How to Make Peanut Butter Cookie Cups
- Prepare: Preheat the oven, and grease a mini muffin tin.
- Prepare the dough: Divide the cookie dough into tablespoon-sized balls. Place each ball into a greased muffin tin cup. Use your fingers to gently press the cookie dough into the bottom and sides of the muffin cups to create a well.
- Bake: Bake the cookie dough for 5-6 minutes or until the dough is partially cooked. Place a mini peanut butter cup in the center of each dough cup, and return the pan to the oven for another 6-8 minutes or until the cookie dough is golden.
- Cool and serve: Allow the peanut butter cookie cups to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Then, remove them from the muffin tin, and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
Quick Tip
Be gentle when pressing the refrigerated cookie dough into the mini muffin tin. You want to make sure there’s just enough room to hold the candy. The dough should still be fairly thick. Otherwise, it will break, and the chocolate will run all over the place!
How to Store Peanut Butter Cookie Cups
Store leftover cookie cups in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 to 7 days. You can freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months. However, I do not recommend freezing this recipe after baking as the candy center won’t thaw well.
Serving Suggestions
Serve these peanut butter cookie cups with a scoop of vanilla or chocolate ice cream. Or, add them to a Christmas Dessert Charcuterie Board for the holidays. They’re also great to take to cookie exchange parties or to gift to friends and family!
FAQs
We bake the cookie dough halfway before adding the candy center to ensure the cookies have enough time to fully bake while preventing the centers from melting completely.
No problem! You can use a regular-sized muffin pan. You’ll likely just need to add more cookie dough and adjust the baking time. Or, roll the cookie dough into balls, and arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes. Then, place a peanut butter cup in the center of each cookie, and return them to the oven until the cookies are fully baked.
Absolutely! You can make your own peanut butter cookie dough up to 4 days in advance, and store it in the refrigerator. When ready to make these peanut butter cookie cups, remove the cookie dough from the fridge, allow it to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, and follow the recipe as listed below.
More Peanut Butter Treats
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Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
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Peanut Butter Lasagna
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Reese’s Peanut Butter Pie
No Bake Desserts
No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars
Uncategorized
Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
Peanut Butter Cookie Cups
Equipment
- Mini muffin tin (24-cup)
- Cooking spray (optional)
- Butter knife or small spatula
- Wire Rack
Ingredients
- Cooking spray optional, for greasing the muffin tin
- 16.5 ounces refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough – 1 package
- 24 Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups unwrapped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to the temperature specified on the cookie dough package, usually around 350°F.16.5 ounces refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough – 1 package
- Lightly grease a 24-cup mini muffin tin with cooking spray to prevent sticking.Cooking spray
- Take small portions of the peanut butter cookie dough, about 1 tablespoon each, and roll them into balls. Place each dough ball into a cup of the mini muffin tin.
- Use your fingers or a spoon to gently press each dough ball into the bottom and up the sides of the muffin cup to create a little well.
- Bake the dough in the preheated oven for 5-6 minutes to partially set.
- While the cookie cups are baking, unwrap the Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
- Remove the muffin tin from the oven and place one unwrapped Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup in the center of each partially baked cookie cup.24 Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
- Return the muffin tin to the oven and bake for an additional 6-8 minutes, or until the cookie cups are golden and fully baked.
- Remove the muffin tin from the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes.
- Use a butter knife or a small spatula to carefully remove the peanut butter cookie cups from the muffin tin and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- These Peanut Butter Cookie Cups with Mini Reese’s are a delightful treat for peanut butter and chocolate lovers.
- Feel free to experiment with different varieties of Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, such as white chocolate or dark chocolate, to add a twist to the recipe.
- Store any leftover cookie cups in an airtight container at room temperature, and they should remain fresh for up to one week. Enjoy the irresistible peanut butter and chocolate combination!
