Chocolate Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies

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Hi Bold Bakers!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: My knockout Chocolate Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies are the bold treat that any peanut butter chocolate fan will absolutely adore! Quick, easy to make (no machine needed), and super satisfying!

• Heavenly cocoa cookie: Bittersweet chocolate, cocoa powder, dark brown sugar, and molasses bring the flavor.
• Creamy, thick filling: Straight-up luscious peanut butter is all you need.
• Done in 40 minutes: Luckily, you don’t have to wait long to dig into these peanut butter stuffed cookies.
• Decadent: No wimpy cookies here! These generous, pillowy treats are over the top in the best way.
• Get ready for compliments! Part brownie, part cookie, part peanut butter truffle, and pure delight.

It’s a smart idea to have a go-to list of irresistible, super-fast cookies. You can mix these recipes up in minutes, they bake in a flash, and they taste so much better than store-bought. You’ll love my Best Ever Oatmeal Cookies, 3 Ingredient Nutella Cookies, Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies, Perfect Funfetti Cookies, and Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Most of us adore anything with chocolate and peanut butter, but here is my baker’s secret about how to elevate these cookies even more. Make your chocolate dough in advance and “age” it in the fridge for a few days (I age my dough for four or five days) before baking. This aging process gives the flavors time to develop to their full potential. Additionally, during this resting period, the gluten relaxes, which makes the cookies more tender.

Table of Contents

• What are Chocolate Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies
• Tools You Need
• Key Ingredients and Substitutes
• How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies
• Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips
• Make Ahead and Storage Instructions
• FAQs
• More Chocolate Peanut Butter Recipes

What are Chocolate Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies

• Chocolate Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies are dark chocolate cookies filled with peanut butter.
  • Flavor: Intense cocoa and mellow peanut butter
  • Main ingredients: Bittersweet chocolate, unsweetened cocoa powder, dark brown sugar, molasses, peanut butter
  • Texture:  Tender cookie with slightly crispy edges, soft and creamy center
  • Great for: Dessert, snacks, fall parties
• The process of making peanut butter was patented by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, the health reformer who, along with his brother, also invented Corn Flakes! Peanut butter, known at the time as peanut paste, was developed as a high-protein food for vegetarians and people with chewing difficulties.

Tools You Need

• Mixing bowls
• Measuring spoons
• Measuring cups
• Glass measuring jug
• Kitchen scale (optional)
• Double boiler (optional)
• Whisk
• Sifter
• 2 baking sheets
• Parchment paper
• Cookie scoop (optional)

Key Ingredients and Substitutes

For the Chocolate Cookie Dough

Bittersweet chocolate

• Bittersweet chocolate has 63–72% cocoa solids, giving it a bolder, more pronounced cocoa flavor. It is darker and more intense than semisweet chocolate, and has the ideal level of sweetness.
• Find out more about chocolate in my Ultimate Guide to the Different Types of Chocolate.

Butter

• Butter provides moisture, and fat that makes the cookies tender and soft, and contributes to a satisfying chew.
• Importantly, butter gives these chocolate cookies a rich, creamy flavor.
• It’s important to have your butter at room temperature so you can cream it correctly. Here are the best methods for softening butter.
• Substitute: You can use an equal amount of solid coconut oil in place of the butter.
  • Cookies made with solid coconut oil may spread more than cookies made with butter. So, you use solid coconut oil, I recommend chilling the cookie dough for at least one hour before shaping and baking the cookies.

Granulated sugar

• Granulated sugar sweetens the cookies.
• Importantly, because granulated sugar is drier than brown sugar, it helps these stuffed cookies hold their shape.

Dark brown sugar

• Dark brown sugar adds moisture, lovely gooeyness, and gives these cookies a touch of caramel flavor.
  Use our Homemade Brown Sugar Recipe to make your own!

Molasses

• Molasses enhances the texture by adding moisture
• Importantly, robust, slightly smoky molasses adds depth of flavor to the peanut butter cookies stuffed with peanut butter and balances out the sweetness.
• Use my recipe to make your own molasses substitute.
• Substitute: You can use an equal amount of dark corn syrup, golden syrup, or honey (which will make the cookies sweeter).

Eggs

• The egg emulsifies the ingredients into a cohesive mixture.
• Additionally, eggs contribute richness and flavor.
• Eggs must be at room temperature when baking unless specified otherwise. Here’s how to warm up eggs straight from the fridge.
• Substitute: You can use a flax egg (use 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed plus 3 tablespoons water per egg, mix, and set aside for 5 minutes before adding to the batter) or a chia seed egg (use 1 tablespoon of chia seeds plus 3 tablespoons of water per egg, mix, and set aside for 5 minutes before adding to the batter).
  • For more suggestions and information, check out our guide, 12 Best Egg Substitutes for Baking Recipes and How to Use Them.

All-purpose flour

• All-purpose flour gives these peanut butter-stuffed cookies enough structure to hold their shape while still maintaining a soft texture.
• Substitute: Use an equal amount of a gluten-free baking mix, like our Easy Almond Flour Baking Mix or another gluten free flour.

Unsweetened cocoa powder

• Unsweetened cocoa powder gives the stuffed cookies a satisfying cocoa flavor and rich color.
• Substitute: You can use an equal amount of Dutch-processed cocoa.

Baking soda

• Baking soda is a leavening agent that makes the cookies lighter and puffier.
• It reacts with acidic ingredients, such as molasses and dark brown sugar.
• Read more about the science behind this process in Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda When Making Cookies.

Salt

• Salt brings out the flavors of all of the ingredients and accentuates the bittersweet chocolate beautifully.

Milk chocolate

• Chopped milk chocolate adds creamy sweetness and a melty texture contrast to these peanut butter stuffed cookies.
• Substitutes: You can use an equal amount of milk chocolate chips or mini chips instead of chopped chocolate.

For the Cookie filling

Creamy peanut butter

• Creamy peanut butter provides the filling for these stuffed cookies
• Be sure to use salted peanut butter, or the cookies may taste bland.
• Substitute: If you prefer, use chunky peanut butter.
  • In place of the peanut butter, you can use an equal amount of almond butter.
  • Use an equal amount of sunflower seed butter for a non-nut option.

How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies

To Make the Chocolate Cookie Dough

1. Melt chocolate: In a medium bowl, melt the bittersweet chocolate in the microwave in 30-second increments or over a double boiler for about 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Cream butter and sugars: In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars together with a whisk by hand until soft and light in color.

3. Stir in wet ingredients: Stir the molasses and the cooled chocolate, followed by the eggs, one at a time.

4. Add dry ingredients: Sift over the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined.

5. Fold in chocolate: Lastly, fold in the chopped milk chocolate until evenly distributed. (At this point, you can chill your raw dough for up to 3 days or freeze it up to two months.)

To Make the Cookies

6. Prepare to bake: Preheat the oven fan assist to 350°F (180°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
7. Portion dough: Scoop the dough into 28 evenly sized portions, roughly 2-tablespoons each, roll into balls and flatten slightly.

8. Add filling: Make an indent into a cookie, and add 1½ teaspoons of peanut butter in the hole.

9. Top cookies: Place another cookie on top and press the edges to encase the peanut butter. Flatten to about 2 ½ inches (5 cm) in diameter.

10. Finish cookies: Repeat until you have stuffed all of the cookies, arranging the cookies at least 3 inches apart on the cookie sheet.

11. Bake and enjoy: Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until firm on the edges and barely set in the middle.

FULL (PRINTABLE) RECIPE BELOW! 

Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips

• Convection vs. regular: If you don’t have a convection oven, bake one sheet at a time at 375°F (180 °C).
• Careful measuring: When filling the cookies, use no more than 1½ teaspoons of peanut butter, or the cookie will be hard to close.
• More crunch: For stuffed peanut butter cookies with a bit more texture, you can use crunchy peanut butter or add a few chopped, salted peanuts to the filling.
• Filling options: You can use almond or sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter. Whichever you choose, make sure it is salted for the best flavor and contrast.
• Finishing touch: Before baking, you can add a few more chunks of milk chocolate or a few salted peanuts to the tops of the cookies to give them a nice look.

Make Ahead and Storage Instructions

• Make-ahead tips:
  • You can make the dough four to five days in advance of baking day.
  • You can also make the dough, assemble the cookies, and freeze them flat on a tray.
    • Once frozen, bag them, and then you can bake as many cookies as you want whenever you’d like.
    • Freeze them this way for up to two months.
    • When ready to bake, defrost them at room temperature for 1 hour.
• How to store leftovers:
  • Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.

FAQs

Can I make these peanut butter chocolate cookies without eggs?

• Yes, you can make these peanut butter chocolate cookies without eggs.
• For each egg, substitute with a flax egg (use 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed plus 3 tablespoons water per egg, mix, and set aside for 5 minutes before adding to the batter) or a chia seed egg (use 1 tablespoon of chia seeds plus 3 tablespoons of water per egg, mix, and set aside for 5 minutes before adding to the batter).
• For more egg substitute ideas, check out my Guide to the Best Egg Substitutes in Baking.

Can I make these cookies gluten-free?

• Yes, you can make these cookies gluten-free.
• Use an equal amount of gluten-free baking mix, like Easy Almond Flour Baking Mix or another gluten-free flour, in place of the all-purpose flour.

What are some mix-ins I can use in this cookie recipe?

• To add texture and/or a different flavor to the peanut butter filling, you can add chopped peanuts, toffee bits, or crushed pretzels.
• Double down on the chocolate peanut butter theme by mixing mini chocolate chips into the peanut butter.
• Add-ins that will add texture to the dough include chopped bittersweet chocolate, mini bittersweet chips or cacao nibs, mini white chocolate chips, chopped toasted hazelnuts or walnuts, or chopped candied ginger.
•  Sprinkle the top of unbaked cookies with chopped nuts, flaky sea salt, or mini peanut butter chips.
  • Drizzle cooled cookies with Peanut Butter Sauce or melted chocolate.

What’s the secret to making sure the peanut butter doesn’t leak out of the cookies?

• Form the chocolate cookie dough evenly around the peanut butter filling, taking care that there are no thin spots.
• Take care not to overbake the cookies, as the peanut butter could liquify and leak.
• If you’re really worried about peanut butter leaking, you can always scoop out 1 1/2 teaspoons of peanut butter, form them into balls, and chill them for a couple of hours before making the cookies.

More Chocolate Peanut Butter Recipes

• Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
• Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
• Buckeyes
• Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cheesecake
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake