Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies – Soft and dense peanut butter cookies, with chocolate chips and Reese’s pieces candy. A chewy cookie that kids and adults will both love!
I’ve always had a weakness for peanut butter and chocolate together. Whether it’s peanut butter cups, buckeyes, ice cream, or pie, my sweet tooth yearns for anything that combines these two glorious flavors together. There was a time(s) that I was so desperate for something sweet that I took a handful of chocolate chips and a scoop of peanut butter, melted them together in the microwave, and ate it with a spoon. And I am not ashamed one little bit for admitting that. A girl’s gotta have her sweets, okay! In fact, I think I am quite the genius of coming up with it, thankyouverymuch!
This brings us to recipe for today: Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter cookies. When I saw this recipe from Averie Cooks, I almost fell out of my chair. I mean, those cookies look divine. And then I kept scrolling down the blog post and saw that Averie made an entire cookbook about peanut butter recipes. Woah, what?! How do I not have this?! *adds to Amazon wishlist*
And I must say, these cookies taste just as delicious as they look. The best part about these cookies is the texture: they are soft and moist and gooey, all at once. I personally like a soft cookie with a slight crispiness around the edge; a cookie that taste great hours/days after baking. And these deliver on all the above.
And that is exactly how I feel about these cookies.
Here are some helpful tips to note when making these cookies:
- Most cookies turn out best when you chill the dough before baking. And these cookies are no exception. See, when you soften the butter for the dough, you need to firm it back up, otherwise your cookies are going to spread out too much. And then you have these flimsy cookies that break as soon as you pick them up (oh yes, I’ve been there). So make sure you chill the dough at least 2 hours before baking. This means you better plan your baking accordingly. If you have a hankering for cookies right this second, sorry friend, but you will need to wait two more hours to eat some. Maybe you should try my melted chocolate chips and peanut butter trick in the mean time.
- Going along with number 1, if you chill the dough overnight or longer, let the cookies thaw at room temperature for 15 minutes before baking. This will give them some freedom to spread while cooking but not a lot. Otherwise, they will stay their same shape while baking (aka a medium-sized ball of dough).
- To get the cookies to cook evenly, you’ll need a cookie scoop. I recommend this one. It’s a lot easier than rolling the dough into balls. Plus, it will keep your hands clean. Hooray for cleanliness!!
Happy baking!
Here are all the kitchen tools and serveware that I used in this post. For each item that is sold, I receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting the brands that support CPA!
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Recipe (adapted from Averie Cooks):
Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup peanut butter creamy
- 1/2 cup butter unsalted
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups flour all-purpose
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Reese's Pieces
- 1 cup chocolate chips semi-sweet
Instructions
- Using a mixer, cream together the first 5 ingredients (through vanilla) on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, scrapping the sides of the bowl, as needed.
- Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and mix on low speed until just incorporated, about 1 minute; do not over mix.
- Using a spatula or wooden spoon, add the Reese's Pieces, chocolate chips, and blend until just incorporated.
- Using a medium cookie scoop (I recommend one above), scoop heaping spoonfuls of dough and place on a large serving platter or plate. Flatten mounds slightly with your palm, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
- Once the dough is chilled, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Note: if you chilled your dough overnight or longer, you will need to remove the dough from the fridge while the oven preheats. See note above.
- Place dough on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart from one another. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, rotating cookies halfway through. Do not bake longer than 10 minutes, as they will firm up as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
Jessica Nichols says
Do the chips and Reece’s always fall out of the batter pretty easily? I found myself making cookie balls than rolling the balls in the Reece’s to get more into each cookie?
Sharon says
Yeah I’d say that happens. The cookies are loaded with chips and candy so they tend to fall out.
Nancy says
Is the vanilla measurement correct? One tablespoon? Or should It be one teaspoon? Thank you!
Sharon says
Yup, it’s one tablespoon! Thanks for asking!
Nancy says
Thanks for the quick answer! Last batch just went in the oven, and will soon be delivered fresh to my husbands CPA firm, to provide fuel for the final week push! Meanwhile, your trifle and chicken kabobs are on my list for Easter company!
Sharon says
You are so welcome! I am so psyched that these cookies are going to fellow CPAs! I hope they enjoy them. Also, I’m eager to know how your Easter turns out so come back and let me know! If you have any questions on the kabobs or the trifle, just shoot me a comment or email. I’ll be around to help!
Nancy says
Rave reviews from Greg’s office staff on the cookies! I am about to make them again to send to my twin daughters for the college finals care packages!
The English Trifle was a hit for Easter Dessert. Unfortunately the chicken kabobs did not get made, but I have company coming next weekend and think they will be perfect for Friday night dinner.
I am so glad I stumbled onto your site! Can’t wait to find my next recipes! Thanks. An dhope you are breathing a little easier now that 4/18 is past!
Sharon says
I’m so happy to hear all the cookies and trifle were well received! Don’t worry – grilling season just begun so I’m sure you’ll have time to make the kabobs 🙂 Thanks so much for the awesome feedback and for your viewership. I am beyond overjoyed when hear from fans of CPA so you made my week! If there’s anything you particularly want to see on the blog, I love to hear suggestions so feel free to shoot me an email if anything comes to you!
Casey says
I love Reeses so this would be right up my alley!
Sharon says
Me too! I don’t know why it took me so long to make these!
Erin says
Yum! Some of my absolute favorites all in one cookie!
Sharon says
Thanks! Can’t beat this combo, am I right?!
Sarah says
These cookies look divine! Can’t wait to try these
Sharon says
Yeah Sarah! I thought of you when I was making them. Peanut butter lovers unite!