Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Two 24-cup mini muffin pans
• •Hand mixer or stand mixer
• •Small cookie scoop (1 tablespoon capacity)
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare your pans

   Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of your oven. Heat to 375°F. You'll need two mini muffin pans with 24 cups each. No greasing required if your pans are well-seasoned or nonstick. The cookies release cleanly once cooled.

   Unwrap all 48 peanut butter cups before you start mixing. You need to work quickly once the cookies emerge from the oven.
2. 2

   Cream the fats and sugars

   In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and peanut butter together until smooth and uniform, about 1 minute with a hand mixer or stand mixer. Add both sugars and beat on medium speed until the mixture lightens in color and turns fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. This aeration creates the tender crumb you want.

3. 3

   Add the egg and vanilla

   Beat in the egg until fully incorporated, then add the vanilla. Mix until combined. The batter should look smooth with no streaks of egg visible.

4. 4

   Mix the dry ingredients

   In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture all at once. Mix on low speed just until the flour disappears. Stop the moment you no longer see dry patches. Overmixing develops gluten and toughens the cookie.

5. 5

   Portion the dough

   Roll level tablespoons of dough into balls. A small cookie scoop makes this quick work. Drop one ball into each mini muffin cup. Don't press them down. The oven does that work for you.

   If your kitchen runs warm and the dough feels sticky, refrigerate it for 15 minutes. Cold dough rolls cleanly.
6. 6

   Bake until puffed

   Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. The cookies are ready when they've puffed slightly in the center and the edges look set but not brown. They should appear slightly underdone. They'll firm as they cool. Overbaked cookies crack when you press in the chocolate.

7. 7

   Press in the chocolate

   Remove the pans from the oven. Immediately press one unwrapped peanut butter cup into the center of each cookie, pushing down gently until the top of the candy sits level with the cookie surface. The warm dough will grip the chocolate. Work quickly but don't rush. You have about 3 minutes before the cookies firm up too much.

8. 8

   Cool completely

   Let the cookies cool in the pan for 10 minutes. The chocolate needs this time to reset slightly. Then run a thin knife around the edges and lift each cookie out carefully. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The chocolate will firm up at room temperature in about 20 minutes.

   If any cookies stick, pop the pan in the freezer for 5 minutes. They'll release cleanly once chilled.

Chef Tips

• •Use a commercial peanut butter like Skippy or Jif for this recipe. Natural peanut butters with oil separation produce a different texture and can make the cookies spread too thin.
• •Store in a single layer for the first few hours until the chocolate fully sets. After that, you can stack them between sheets of parchment in an airtight container.
• •These cookies keep at room temperature for up to a week. In hot weather, refrigerate them to prevent the chocolate from softening.
• •For gift giving, nestle each cookie in a paper candy cup. They look professional and travel without damage.

Advance Preparation

• •Dough can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before scooping.
• •Unbaked dough balls can be frozen on a sheet pan, then transferred to a freezer bag. Bake directly from frozen, adding 2 minutes to the bake time.
• •Finished cookies freeze beautifully for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 25g)