This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Peanut Butter Cup Cookies are thick, chewy peanut butter cookies with a mini Reese’s cup pressed into the center. They’re like the classic blossoms you grew up with, but better, way better!
A Quick Look At The Recipe
This is a brief summary of the recipe. Jump to the recipe to get the full details.
Jump to RecipePrep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
8 minutes
Total Time
28 minutes
Servings
36 Cookies
Difficulty
Easy
Calories *
118 kcal per serving
Technique
Make cookie dough, scoop, roll in sugar, bake, and press Reese's cup into the center.
Flavor Profile
Thick, chewy peanut butter cookies with soft, melty Reese's cups in the center
* Based on nutrition panel
Delicious! I’ve made them a lot. I use jiffy natural peanut butter and a really high quality butter. They are perfect every time. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Chelsea
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
- Stackable for Christmas cookie tins. Flat Reese’s cups mean perfect stacks. No pokey tops breaking your carefully arranged cookie tins.
- Double the peanut butter: peanut butter dough plus peanut butter cups. If you’re here, you’re not looking for subtle peanut butter flavor!
- Done in 30 minutes. No chilling required. Just mix, scoop, bake, and press in the Reese’s. Easy enough for a Tuesday or the perfect addition to your Christmas cookie plate.
Table of Contents
These peanut butter cup cookies started as a practical solution for my holiday cookie tins. Classic blossoms wouldn’t stack nicely, so Reese’s cups solved that problem and made the cookies taste better in the process! They are thick and chewy with that perfect soft Reese’s center. They are pure peanut butter chocolate perfection.
Need more inspiring cookies to make for the holidays!? I never make it through Christmas without making these cherry cookies, soft gingerbread cookies, brown butter brownies, or these linzer cookies. Those plus these peanut butter cup cookies, you will have something for everyone!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Granulated Sugar
- Light Brown Sugar: Adds moisture and a subtle molasses flavor. Light or dark both work; dark gives a deeper flavor.
- Unsalted Butter
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda & Baking Powder
- Kosher Salt
- Large Egg
- Vanilla Extract
- Peanut Butter: Use regular, creamy peanut butter, such as Jif or Skippy. If you want to use natural peanut butter or another nut butter, the cookies might spread a bit more, or you can try my peanut butter chocolate chip cookies instead.
- Mini Reese’s Cups
Variations for Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Change the Reese’s: Use white chocolate or dark chocolate Reese’s cups for a twist.
- Mix-ins: Fold in semi-sweet or peanut butter chips into the dough, just like I do with my Reese’s peanut butter cookies. You can also add some M&M or use other candies to press into the dough, like Snickers or Rolos!
- Make them bars: Press dough into a 9×13 pan, bake for 25–30 minutes, press Reese’s into the warm bars, and cut into individual bar cookies. You can also make these fudgy peanut butter milk chocolate bars or these Reese’s peanut butter blondies.
- Sprinkles! Add some fun, festive color with colored sanding sugar like red, green, and gold! You can mix the colors or roll each cookie in different colors!
Professional Tips
- Cream butter and sugar properly. Beat until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes. This ensures the butter is the proper consistency and temperature to allow the peanut butter to mix in. Otherwise, you could have chunks of butter.
- Press Reese’s into the cookie immediately. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, you want to press the peanut butter cup into the center. The cookies will crack if you wait too long.
- Don’t overbake. The cookies will puff, and the top will have a few cracks, and the cookie will look underdone in the cracks, but it will continue to bake on the cookie sheet.
- Unwrap the peanut butter cups while baking. Just like when making classic peanut butter blossoms, you want to unwrap the candy before the cookies come out of the oven, or they will cool too much before you can press the chocolate in.
How to Make Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Use these instructions to make the perfect peanut butter cup cookie every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, then line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 2: Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Step 3: Cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
Step 4: Beat in peanut butter until incorporated. Add egg and vanilla, beat until smooth.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding the egg to ensure the peanut butter is fully incorporated with the butter.
Step 5: Combine dough. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, mixing on low between each addition.
Step 6: Shape the peanut butter cookie dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
While the cookies bake, unwrap your Reese’s. It’s tedious but worth it.
Step 7: Bake for 8–10 minutes or until edges begin to crack and the center has puffed.
Step 8: Immediately press a Reese’s cup into the center of each cookie. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
I find that Reese’s stored in the fridge unwrap more easily. And they will hold their shape better once pressed into the cookie.
Recipe FAQs
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Freeze rolled dough balls on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag, and they can be stored for up to 2 months before baking.
Yes, but the texture will be slightly different. The cookies will have more crunch.
Your butter was too warm, or you used natural peanut butter. Use regular peanut butter like Jif or Skippy, and make sure the butter is not too soft.
Related Peanut Butter Cookie Recipes
Cookie Recipes
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Cookie Recipes
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookies
Cookie Recipes
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brownies & Bars Recipes
Reese’s Peanut Butter Blondies
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Ingredients
- ¼ cup granulated sugar plus more for rolling
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup peanut butter creamy, I use Jif forever and always
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 36 Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, then line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in peanut butter until incorporated. Add egg and vanilla, beat until smooth.
- Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, mixing on low between each addition.
- Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. While the cookies bake, unwrap your Reese’s. It’s tedious but worth it.
- Bake for 8 minutes or until edges begin to crack and the center has puffed.
- Immediately press a Reese's cup into the center of each cookie. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this Reese’s cup cookie recipe. Check out our other delicious cookie recipes or browse all my Christmas cookie recipes.
These are absolutely perfect! The Reese’s cups stay soft, unlike those hard Hershey’s kisses. I made three batches for my cookie exchange, and everyone wanted the recipe. So much better than traditional blossoms!
This recipe should say 1 inch balls. 2 inch is incorrect. They are nowhere near cooked in 8 minutes at 2 inches, and you only get 1 dozen.
Hi Laura! Thanks for pointing this out, I went back to my notes and I see why it was confusing. I mixed two versions of the recipe when I wrote that line. Before filming, I was making smaller, 1-inch dough balls that bake into about 2-inch cookies and yield 36 cookies in ~8 minutes. In the video, I used a larger, golf-ball-sized scoop, which bakes longer (10–12 minutes) and yields fewer cookies. I will update the wording so this is clearer. Thank you again for flagging it and I hope you enjoy these cookies!
Delicious! I’ve made them a lot. I use jiffy natural peanut butter and a really high quality butter. They are perfect everytime.