Peanut Butter Cookies with Peanut Butter Cups

It's Monday, and we're back to the daily grind. Let's make cookies, shall we? These peanut butter cookies are loaded with even more peanut butter in the form of chopped up peanut butter cups. In this household we go through peanut butter (and peanut butter m&ms, peanut butter cups, etc.) like nobody's business, so these cookies were right up our alley. Have a great week!

Peanut Butter Cookies 

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

2/3 cup peanut butter

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

12 oz bag Reese's peanut butter cups, chopped into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a mixer, cream butter and sugars until fluffy, about two minutes. Mix in peanut butter, egg, and vanilla until combined. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture and mix on low until combined.

Stir in chopped peanut butter cups. Use a cookie scoop to place dough on baking sheet a couple of inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove, cool, and enjoy. 

source: recipe barely adapted from bakerella

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

I live with a pretty much constant craving for Little Debbies.  I hate that they always have their own endcap at the grocery store!  The only thing that keeps me from buying them is knowing I would end up eating the whole box, since Caleb doesn't get into store-bought cookies.  And eating an entire box of Little Debbies is just sad.  So to satisfy my craving for sandwich cookies like oatmeal cream pies or fudge rounds, I made these peanut butter oatmeal sandwich cookies.  Caleb totally got on board with these, so I could enjoy my fair share guilt-free.

P.S. My absolute favorite sandwich cookies!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

for the cookies:

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

8 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup oats (quick-cooking or rolled)

for the filling:

3 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

3 Tbsp heavy cream

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.  In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Stir together with a fork to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, peanut butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Blend in the egg and vanilla extract.  Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until incorporated.  Stir in the oats until evenly blended.

Use a small cookie dough scoop to portion out the dough, rolling each portion into a ball, and place them on the prepared cookie sheet, a couple inches apart.  Bake about 10 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking.  The cookies will be light golden brown and slightly puffed.  Let cool on the baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Repeat with the remaining dough.

Once the cookies have cooled completely, pair them up by size.  To make the filling, combine the butter, peanut butter, and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Cream together until well combined.  Mix in the heavy cream until smooth and fluffy.  Spread the filling onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair.  Sandwich together with the remaining cookie and press down (lightly) so that the filling reaches the edges.  

source:  recipe from annie's eats, originally from all recipes

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Peanut butter and chocolate were meant to go together, and that's all there is to it.  Instead of making the traditional peanut butter cookies with the Hershey's kiss on top, we made the same dough but pressed a Reese's cup in the center of the dough before baking.  We think these are definitely the better version of the two!

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

1 bag of Reese's peanut butter cups

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place bag of Reese's peanut butter cups in freezer until ready to use (this allows the wrappers to come off clean).  Sift flour, baking soda, and salt with a wire whisk and set aside.  Beat butter and peanut butter.  Add sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla.  Add flour mixture and combine.  Roll dough into 1 to 1-1/2 inch balls and then roll the balls in granulated sugar to coat.

Press rolled balls into greased cavities of a mini muffin tin.  Press an unwrapped Reese's peanut butter cup into each. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Let cool in pans for 5-10 minutes.  Remove from pans and allow to finish cooling in wire racks.  Makes 2-3 dozen cookies.

source:  recipe from bakerella