These peanut butter filled brownie cookies are soft and fudge-like with a creamy peanut butter ripple swirled throughout. The brownie dough uses melted chocolate AND cocoa powder for extra chocolate flavor and the peanut butter filling requires just 2 ingredients. Warning: these are quite indulgent!
Sometimes you just need a cookie. Last month it was my mission to bake some sort of stuffed peanut butter/chocolate cookie creation. I have recipes for peanut butter stuffed brownies, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter fudge puddles, (and pb cup stuffed chocolate cookies in my cookbook) and questioned if this was really even necessary…
But then I came to my senses because (hello!?) a cookie is always necessary. The test batches garnered rave reviews, so I knew this recipe had to be published ASAP.
These Peanut Butter Filled Brownie Cookies Are:
- Sweet and chewy like a brownie
- Shiny and crackly on top
- Unapologetically rich and indulgent
- Filled and marbled with a soft peanut butter filling like the inside of peanut butter balls and peanut butter Easter eggs (so good!!)
One reader, Nancy, commented: “Wow! These cookies are amazing and totally worth the extra bit of time and effort. My daughter told me they are the best cookies I have ever made, and I may have to agree. They will definitely be on my cookie tray this Christmas. And I will most certainly be making them again before that. ★★★★★“
The full printable dessert recipe is below, but let me point out some things to know before you get started.
Peanut Butter Filling
The first thing you’re going to do is make the peanut butter filling using equal parts confectioners’ sugar and peanut butter. Stir them together (no need for a mixer) until combined and then roll into teaspoon-size balls as best you can. Like the filling from these cream cheese red velvet cookies (what a mouthful), the peanut butter filling must be extremely cold. Chill the peanut butter filling in the freezer for at least 1 hour as you make and chill the cookie dough.
- Can I use natural peanut butter? Yes. It doesn’t spread as much in the oven, so the cookies with natural peanut butter were a bit more lumpy, but still tasted great! I used creamy unsalted natural peanut butter that had been in the fridge, and it took a little bit more arm muscle and time to stir the confectioners’ sugar into it (compared with the conventional peanut butter), but it did smooth out—just keep at it.
- Can I use a peanut butter alternative? Yes. For nut-free alternatives, you can use Biscoff cookie butter or sunflower seed butter spread. My team and I have not tested this recipe with almond butter, but I don’t see any issue using that instead.
Brownie Cookie Dough Ingredients
Now that the peanut butter balls are in the freezer, you can start the brownie cookie dough. Have you ever made my brownie cookies before? They’re a hit whenever I make them and you might love them even more marbled with peanut butter. A few key ingredients you need include cocoa powder, brown & white sugars, eggs, room temperature butter, flour, espresso powder, and chocolate.
Espresso powder is optional for a deeper chocolate flavor. You can find it in the coffee aisle at the grocery store or online. If you don’t have it, just skip it.
Success Tip: Best Chocolate to Use
Since most of the cookie’s chocolate flavor comes from melted chocolate, do not cut corners. Use pure chocolate baking bars such as Ghirardelli (not affiliated, just love their chocolate). You can find them right next to the chocolate chips in the baking aisle. They’re typically sold in 4 ounce bars and you need 8 ounces for this recipe.
- I use and recommend semi-sweet chocolate, but you can use bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate for a much darker flavor. In the pictured cookies, I used 4 ounces semi-sweet and 4 ounces bittersweet.
The cookie dough is practically brownie batter, so it needs to chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour before you can shape it with the peanut butter filling. Very sticky before chilling:
Look how much it solidifies after 1 hour in the refrigerator. This is exactly what you want:
Let’s Shape These Peanut Butter Filled Brownie Cookies
The process starts similar to how we shape Nutella crinkle cookies. Using a Tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop out a heaping mound of the brownie cookie dough. It will be pretty hard after chilling, but will soften up in your hands as you roll it. (I don’t recommend using a cookie scoop for this dough because the dough is too hard and sticky. I tried it and my cookie scoop went on strike.) Now the exact marbling/shaping process:
- Roll the dough in your hands to make a ball and then press your thumb into the ball as if you were making a thumbprint cookie.
- Press a peanut butter ball into the indentation and break off a small piece of the brownie dough.
- Smush (yes, that’s the technical term) the piece of brownie cookie dough you’d taken away back on top of the peanut butter filling.
- Mold it all together as you reroll it into a ball. It will look a little marbled.
YOUR HANDS WILL GET MESSY in this process, fair warning.
Every cookie will look different, which only adds to their alluring charm. And by the way, you could totally use these cookies for cookie ice cream sandwiches!
3 Final Success Tips
- Don’t overthink the shaping step. The marbling/swirling doesn’t have to be perfect. In fact, it’s fun that every single cookie looks different!
- Shape only a few at a time. The peanut butter filling softens up extremely quickly after you take it out of the freezer, and quickly becomes softer than the brownie cookie dough. I recommend taking about 6 peanut butter balls out of the freezer at a time, leaving the rest in the freezer while you’re shaping the first bunch.
- Clean-ish hands. Wipe or wash your hands clean after you shape a few cookies. Once your hands are really messy, the dough becomes unworkable. I usually shape 6, freshen up my hands, shape another 6, etc.
See Your Peanut Butter Filled Brownie Cookies!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
Print
Peanut Butter Filled Brownie Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes (includes chilling)
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 24 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Take rich and chewy brownie cookies to the next level with a creamy peanut butter swirl! Both the peanut butter filling and cookie dough must chill before shaping. Review shaping success tips above the recipe.
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Filling
- 1/2 cup (125g) creamy peanut butter (see Note)
- 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar
Cookie Dough
- 8 ounces (226g) semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (2 standard 4-ounce bars of baking chocolate)
- 3/4 cup (94g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 cup (21g) natural unsweetened or dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the peanut butter filling: In a small bowl, mix the peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar together until combined and smooth. You can just use a spoon for this. Mixture is thick, yet soft. With a teaspoon, scoop out a spoonful of peanut butter mixture (about 6g), and roll into a ball. Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, plate, or tray. Repeat with remaining mixture until you have 24 peanut butter balls. Loosely cover and freeze for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. (I usually just freeze them for a little over 1 hour, which is the amount of time it takes to make and chill the brownie cookie dough.)
- Make the brownie cookie dough: Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or use the microwave. Microwave in 20-second increments, stirring after each until completely melted. Set aside to slightly cool.
- Meanwhile, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside. In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and beat on high speed for 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl, then beat on high for 1 more minute. Pour in the slightly cooled melted chocolate and mix on medium-high speed for 2 full minutes. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until combined.
- Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour. If chilling for longer, allow the cookie dough to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before rolling and shaping in step 6.
- After chilling, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Shape the cookies: The peanut butter filling softens up extremely quickly after you take it out of the freezer. I recommend taking about 6 peanut butter balls out of the freezer at a time, leaving the rest in the freezer while you’re shaping the first bunch. Using a sturdy tablespoon, scoop out a heaping spoonful of the cookie dough and roll into a ball, about 1.5 Tablespoons/30g/1 ounce of dough each. The dough will be quite stiff. Make an indentation with your thumb, and place a frozen peanut butter ball in the indentation. Pinch off a piece of the brownie cookie dough and press it on top of the peanut butter filling, and then roll the whole thing together into a smooth ball. Feel free to pull off pieces of brownie dough to expose more peanut butter and then re-roll together; peanut butter can also be hidden inside the cookie dough if you don’t want a marbled look. Repeat with remaining cookie dough and peanut butter balls. (Warning: your hands get messy in this step!)
- Place dough balls 3 inches apart on the baking sheets and bake for 12-13 minutes or until the edges appear set. The centers will be quite soft, but will set up as the cookies cool.
- Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Cookies won’t spread as much if dough balls were frozen, so about halfway through bake-time, gently press down on the baking cookies with a spoon to help get them to spread. Learn some of my best practices for How to Freeze Cookie Dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Double Boiler | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack
- Peanut Butter: At the time of publication, there is a recall on Jif peanut butters. Please consider researching the recall information and use another brand of peanut butter in this recipe. We tested it with Skippy Creamy, Justin’s Natural Creamy, and Wegmans brand Natural Creamy. If using natural and the oil has separated to the top of the jar, make sure you stir it well before measuring. Room temperature peanut butter is easiest to mix. I do not recommend crunchy peanut butter because it doesn’t mix very easily with the confectioners’ sugar.
- Peanut Butter Alternatives: For a nut-free alternative, you can use Biscoff cookie butter or sunflower seed butter spread. My team and I have not tested this recipe with almond butter, but I don’t see any issue using that instead!
- Chocolate: Use pure chocolate baking bars. You can find them right next to the chocolate chips in the baking aisle. They are sold in 4 ounce bars, so you’ll need 2. I use and recommend semi-sweet chocolate, but you can use bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate (or a combination of any) for a darker chocolate flavor.
- Espresso Powder: Espresso powder deepens the chocolate flavor. You can find it in the coffee aisle at the grocery store or online. You can skip it or use 2 teaspoons of instant coffee powder instead.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Would it be an absolute travesty if I used chocolate chips instead of chocolate baking bars? Baking bars are a bit expensive.
Hi Jessica, for best results and taste, we recommend using baking bars. Chocolate chips contain stabilizers that prevent them from melting properly and smoothly like baking bars do.
Could you please tell me the approximate diameter of these cookies? I am thinking I want to make them a little smaller.
Hi Sue, these cookies are about 3 inches in diameter.
Wonderful and fun to make! The peanut butter swirls are so scrumptious. Will definitely make these again.
Love these cookies! I used Biscoff Butter to avoid the peanut butter. They didn’t marble quite the same as in the pictures but they turned out absolutely amazing. Definitely going into the regular rotation.
Wondering if I should use regular peanut butter or natural. I know both work based on the notes, but which tastes better? Is the regular peanut butter too sweet with the icing sugar?
Thanks!
Hi Jessica! If you prefer the less sweet flavor of natural peanut butter, then that may be the best choice for you 🙂
This is a delicious dessert cookie. A bit messy to make but worth it. Chocolate and peanut butter are a perfect match. Make sure you follow the directions and refrigerate the dough as it is very soft. I used 1 bar of semi sweet and 1 bar of bittersweet. I also baked just until the tops were cracked and still soft. Perfect recipe.
I haven’t been doing much baking lately because I’ve been on a very restrictive detox diet (you have no idea how much I’ve missed baking). Now that I can loosen the restrictions and have the occasionally treat I think this recipe is the perfect one to try. You have never steered me wrong in the cookie department before.
This is the first time I have jumped on the challenge so early! I was excited to make these so I cut all of the corners (crunchy PB, chocolate chips, microwave, etc.) the final product was a huge hit for my last day of work today! Sally, you have yet to let me down
Absolutely delicious! I found after making the first 6 cookies, it was too messy with a lot being washed off my hands. I opted to use the rest of the batter to make a giant 9” cookie in a cast iron skillet. I baked for about 26 minutes and it turned out perfect!
Decadent! Definitely a messy job to roll those cookie balls but totally worth it! We baked some, we froze some for a rainy day, probably a good thing because otherwise they’d all be gone already! Yum!
AMAZING! These cookies are delicious and decadent. I used gluten free flour and they turned out perfectly….the peanut butter swirl is so yummy!!
I loved this recipe!!!
I used sunflower butter instead of peanut butter, slightly less sugar, and coconut oil instead of butter.
And it was delicious
I would definitely make this again!!!!
It was perfect! Thank you for this delicious recipe!
WOW! WOW! WOW! I made a double batch of these. I made them with gluten free flour (cup for cup). Wonderful! I baked one batch and froze the other 24 cookies. Not sure how long they will last in the freezer cause these are almost gone already! I love the brownie feel and taste. They are a hit around here. Thanks for the challenge!
I was among those who saw this recipe and said, “I CANNOT WAIT TO MAKE THESE”! And I didn’t wait, and I’m so glad.
Decadent, rich, delicious, scrumptious, amazing, clever, inspired…. I have more positive adjectives than I have cookies in that batch.
As always, an impeccably described and professionally presented recipe from my favourite baking site.
I find I never go wrong when I rely on Sally, and EVERYTHING ABOUT THESE COOKIES IS RIGHT!!
Thank you so much for your positive feedback, Lauren! We’re thrilled to hear that you loved these cookies.
Tonight I wanted to try a new cookie recipe to stave off a sweet tooth. Saw Sally’s Baking Addiction recipe but couldn’t believe it didn’t have any reviews yet. Thought it may have been a mistake until I realized it was just posted today! They’re in the oven now and look delicious. Had a little bit of trouble getting the marbling exactly right so I just fully enveloped the peanut butter ball in the chocolate dough. I know it will be delicious either way!
Such a great recipe! I’m a huge peanut butter & chocolate lover and this satisfies my sweet tooth perfectly!
Hi Sally! I love all your recipes so much they are easy to follow and always so delicious. I just have a question about this recipe, the peanut butter ball stayed as a ball in the middle of the cookie and it didn’t “mush” together when I was shaping them. Is there anyway I can prevent this from happening next time?
Hi Lorelle! Thank you so much for making our recipes. You can see how Sally shapes the cookies to have the peanut butter swirl in them in the video above (just after the recipe in the recipe card) – it’s always helpful to have a visual 🙂
A decadent fudgy peanut butter cookie! The perfect combination of crisp exterior with a chewy interior. The only change I will make for next time is to make the peanut butter filling with 3/4 cup powdered sugar and 3/4 cup peanut butter as I had extra cookie dough, but ran out of peanut butter filling. I got a yield of 39 cookies. I didn’t have any “fancy” chocolate on hand, so I used 1 1/2 cups Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chips and they were just fine. These cookies will definitely go into the rotation at our house.
do you think i could use a brownie mix?
Hi Sherrie, it’s likely the brownie batter will over-spread even if chilled, but let us know if you test it. For best results, I recommend using this brownie cookie dough instead.
That was my question too!!
This sounds scrumptious but I was wondering if you could swirl the peanut butter mix with the chocolate dough rather than go through forming individual balls. I love the sound of the recipe but looking for quick and easy. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!
Hi Karen! I haven’t tried that actually. I fear scooping the cold dough would be a bit hard because of the varying consistencies of the dough and peanut butter swirl. But let me know if you test it out.
Reminds me of your Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl cookies except without the chocolate chips. Love those and looking forward to trying this new recipe.
Exactly! However these don’t require two separate cookie doughs, so I find them to be a little easier.
looks awesome! do you think flax eggs would work? how about ghee or coconut oil in place of butter? Thanks
Hi JK, we have not tested those substitutions and are unsure of the results. For best results though, we’d recommend sticking with the recipe as written.
Wondering if I could use KA Black Cocoa for this…thoughts??
Hi Valerie, you can use either natural or Dutch process cocoa in these cookies, so the KA Black Cocoa should work just fine for a deeper chocolate flavor. Let us know how it goes!
Can’t wait to try this one tonight 🙂
Question – do you think these would work with your cream cheese filling? Like in the red velvet cookies!
I’m sure they would!
My son has a peanut allergy, so we keep Wow Butter on hand – it’s a soy-based PB alternative – do you think that would work? Or should we stick to the Biscoff cookie butter mentioned in the recipe? Thanks!
Hi Elyse, my team and I have not tested that, but you can certainly try it. I do know that Biscoff works wonderfully though!
Hi Sally! I don’t have any chocolate bars or chips. Can I use extra cocoa powder?
Hi Jennifer, this recipe won’t turn out without the chocolate. You could try these chocolate cookies as the base instead. (Feel free to leave out the white chocolate chips.)
Hi Sally, hopefully I will get to try this recipe I haven’t gotten to do any of this year’s challenge! It looks delicious but I have one question, is your team a team of bakers?
Hi Finnley, yes we are all home bakers. One member was in the professional baking business for some time, too. 🙂 Would love to hear if you try a baking challenge recipe this year!
When rolling the dough into balls, are you supposed to completely cover the peanut butter ball? Or leave some of it exposed?
Hi Tracy, that’s up to you. I like having it showing so you can see it in the baked cookie.
I missed the May challenge because of a family vacation where I provided homemade pop tarts, using both recipes you created for brown sugar cinnamon and chocolate, that everyone loved and fought over. I am excited to try these cookies because my hubs LOVES anything with chocolate and peanut butter. Thanks for the challenge!
Do you think this would work with white chocolate and omitting the cocoa powder for a more blondie-style cookie?
Hi Gina! That sounds delicious, but I’m really unsure. White chocolate behaves different in baked goods than chocolate. You may have better luck using the dough from chocolate chip cookies (and skipping the chocolate chips). Let me know if you test anything!
Or, Gina can use WHITE CHOCOLATE and/or PEANUT BUTTER CHIPS in Sally’s chocolate chip cookie recipe and then these PB balls…!
Oh, my!!!!
I think that I’m talking myself into trying this recipe and several variations. I’m sure my family and friends won’t mind helping me to gobble them up!
Thank you! (And thanks Laura!) All the variants sound great, though I suppose I’ll have to do the alternate challenge recipe so I don’t get too wildly outside what it’s supposed to be – shall definitely give a variation a try though 🙂
Can’t wait to try these cookies. I like peanut butter and cookies.
I’m so excited to try this mix 🙂
These cookies look delicious! I can’t wait to try them! Thank you so much for sharing all your recipes, Sally! My family and I love them!
These look awesome! Going to try with gluten free flour! Sad about no challenges in 2023, but excited about a new cookbook!