It was one of those late-night cravings that hit hard: peanut butter cookies and peanut butter cups. I didn’t want to choose. In a moment of pure, hungry genius, I wondered what would happen if I smashed them together. I pressed dollops of store-bought peanut butter cookie dough into a muffin tin and, halfway through baking, dropped a peanut butter cup into each molten center. The smell that filled my kitchen was pure, toasted peanut butter bliss. The result? A warm, gooey, sweet-and-salty hybrid that became an instant legend in my house. Sometimes, the best recipes are born from not wanting to decide.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
You will fall head over heels for this recipe because it’s the ultimate expression of minimalist genius. With literally two ingredients and one bowl (if you buy pre-portioned dough), you create a dessert that looks impressively homemade and delivers a knockout combination of textures and flavors. From my many, many test batches, I can tell you the magic is in that perfect moment when the warm, soft cookie hugs the just-melty peanut butter cup. It’s foolproof, fast, and satisfies the deepest peanut butter craving imaginable.
Ingredients
- 1 (16-18 oz) roll of ready-to-bake peanut butter cookie dough
- 12 standard-size peanut butter cups, unwrapped
Let’s talk about these two powerhouse ingredients. For the cookie dough, I highly recommend the refrigerated, pre-sliced kind. It’s consistently soft and makes portioning a breeze. I’ve tried using the dry mix you add butter and egg to, and it works, but the texture isn’t as perfectly soft and chewy. For the peanut butter cups, name-brand Reese’s are the gold standard here. Their perfect peanut butter-to-chocolate ratio and firm texture hold up during baking. Don’t use the miniature ones—they’ll disappear into the dough. This is a case where the classic, full-sized cup is non-negotiable for that glorious, gooey center.(See the next page below to continue…)