After pressing all the Reese’s cups in, I let the cookie bites cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. This part requires patience, and I’ve learned not to rush it. If you take them out too soon, they’ll fall apart. Once they’re cool enough, I gently twist each one out of the tin. The chocolate tops become shiny, the cookie edges stay crisp, and the whole bite tastes like a warm peanut butter cup wrapped in a soft cookie cloud.
Pro Tips for Best Results
I tested this three different ways, and here’s what I learned: don’t overfill the muffin tin. When I first made these, I thought more dough would mean bigger cookie bites, but it actually caused the dough to spill over the edges and trap the Reese’s unevenly. Sticking to a tablespoon-sized portion keeps everything neat and pretty.
Another tip is to work quickly when pressing in the Reese’s. The cookies begin to set almost immediately after leaving the oven, and the chocolate will only melt properly if you press them in while everything is still hot. I now line up the Reese’s cups right next to the oven before I even start baking.
I also experimented with using muffin liners but trust me—they don’t work well here. The dough sticks to the liner, and you lose that perfect golden edge. Spraying the tin lightly gives much better results and lets the bites pop out easily without tearing.
Finally, if you want the top of the Reese’s to stay glossy and pretty after cooling, avoid touching the melted chocolate. Even one fingerprint leaves a mark. I learned that the hard way after accidentally smudging several of them. Now I let them cool untouched until the chocolate firms again.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
I made this mistake the first time—using too much cookie dough in each cup. The dough baked over the top and swallowed the Reese’s cup completely, leaving me with oddly shaped muffin-cookie hybrids. Stick to the tablespoon measurement, and you’ll avoid this completely.
Another easy mistake is not spraying the muffin tin. Even if your tin claims to be nonstick, the melted chocolate and soft cookie dough can glue themselves to the pan. I once had to pry cookie bites out with a butter knife, and several didn’t survive the rescue mission. A simple quick spray solves everything.
Don’t wait too long before adding the Reese’s cups. If the cookies cool, the chocolate won’t melt into the top layer and will instead sit loosely on top. You want that warm cookie to hug the Reese’s cup so it bonds properly and becomes one cohesive bite.(See the next page below to continue…)