Remember this?
Hey, you got peanut butter in my chocolate!
Hey, you got chocolate in my peanut butter!
Well, hey, I got peanut butter cups and chocolate in my peanut butter cookies, and I’ve never been happier. :)
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Makes about 30 cookies
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (I prefer King Arthur)
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. turbinado or demerara sugar (can substitute light brown sugar)
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
1/4 c. peanut butter (I use creamy Skippy Natural)
1 tsp. real vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. water
1 1/2 c. chopped peanut butter cups (about 14 regular-size cups; I love Justin’s Organic Peanut Butter Cups, see Recipe Notes below)
coarse sugar for dusting cookie tops, optional
Preheat oven to 375F. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In another medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together butter, peanut butter, and sugars. Beat in vanilla, egg, and water until thoroughly mixed, then stir in dry ingredients. Once well-combined, stir in chopped peanut butter cups.
Scoop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto lightly greased or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Lightly press down tops of cookies with the back of a fork until flattened to about 1/2″ thick, and then sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired. Bake 7-9 minutes, until dough is set and your kitchen smells like chocolate. Cool on wire rack, but not completely — you have to try these while the peanut butter cups are still melted.
Recipe Notes + Tips:
I discovered Justin’s Nut Butters a few years ago. They are all-natural and scrumptious — Maple Almond Butter is my absolute favorite. Earlier this year, Justin’s debuted their Organic Peanut Butter Cups in milk and dark chocolate. They have half the sugar of Reese’s and much more flavor. They also have about double the chocolate, which automatically earns them brownie points with me. (I mean my “brownie points” very literally. :)
This recipe is my version of one from the King Arthur Flour web site. The original called for mini peanut butter cups, available here. They’re super cute but not all-natural, so not an option for me. If you try them out, let me know how it goes.
created for joy 
Ha — love the concluding picture. I can’t wait to try these.
Two gluten-free thumbs up!
I made these yesterday for our family here in Texas as we are here on our Thanksgiving trip. They were a major hit with the whole family…even though I had substituted a mix of gluten-free flours for the wheat flour. I don’t have the mix recipe that I used with me (I just brought a container full), but for any interested gluten-free parties, this latest rendition of a gluten-free flour mix that I brought with me was something to the effect of…
for each cup of flour required:
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
The other ingredients in this cookie recipe are so rich I think they would cover up or otherwise make up for whatever might not quite be right in a gluten-free mix. Just don’t overbake them. Gluten-free flour doesn’t darken like wheat flour does, so if you wait around for the cookies to look dark they’ll end up too hard. I just went by faith and took these out when Spring’s recipe indicated…OK, I did fudge an extra one minute…and they were perfect. …lots of “Oh, my goodness!” remarks even from the “glutenous” crowd. :) Thanks, Spring!
Yay! Thanks for letting me know. I’m so glad the gluten-free version worked out and that everyone enjoyed them. I am impressed, as always, by your willingness to dive in and find a way to adapt food (and life) to meet your needs. It is such an encouragement to me. :)