One of my favorite go-to cookie recipes are peanut butter cookie bites. We all have those cravings that come over us once in a while that can only be satisfied by chewy, creamy peanut butter. Peanut butter cookies fill that void nicely, especially when coupled with one of the best candies ever made: peanut butter cups.
If you are a peanut butter lover, you probably have the key ingredients to this recipe in your pantry. Whether or not you are accustomed to baking, I’ll fill you in on some of the tips and tricks that are unique to making peanut butter cookies. Let’s start with the basics.
How to Avoid Crumbly Peanut Butter Cookies
Among cookie types, peanut butter is one of the most popular yet very overlooked varieties. One of the drawbacks to peanut butter cookies is that they are usually very crumbly. Peanut butter is a strong flavor, which may also play into it’s lagging popularity, but it’s a flavor most people love, so it’s not likely to be somebody’s favorite cookie, but it is likely to be enjoyed by most peanut consuming people from time to time.
Also, cookies with peanut butter in them that are not traditional peanut butter cookies tend to be more popular and frequently enjoyed, which further demonstrates that the problem with peanut butter cookies is not the flavor but something else.
The way the cookie crumbles is a very important factor in making it enjoyable and peanut butter cookies tend to fall apart rather easily. However, this problem, while common, is not unavoidable. You can get dry crumbly cookies for a number of reasons.
Although these peanut butter cookie bites are not solely traditional peanut butter cookies, they have the same starting point. Correct these mistakes and your peanut butter cookie base will be more agreeable, making the bites even better and more fun to enjoy.
Three common mistakes when making peanut butter cookies are using too much flour, using a substitute for real butter, and baking too long. Be aware of these pitfalls as you mix and bake your peanut butter cookie bites.
Too much flour will keep your cookie dough from binding. Using margarine or oil instead of butter also impairs the integrity of the dough. Over baking will dry the cookie, causing it to crumble more easily than a soft chewy cookie. So, be careful before and during the baking process to protect your peanut butter cookie dough.
Why Peanut Butter Cookies Have Fork Marks on Them
Before we move on to what makes these peanut butter cookie bites special and unique, I want to address another common question specific to peanut butter cookies. Lots of people wonder about the fork marks that appear on the top of the cookie. Who agreed to this and how did it happen? Is it to differentiate them from other cookies? No. It’s a byproduct of a practical step in baking peanut butter cookies.
Most traditional cookies begin as a ball of dough. as they bake they spread flat along the cookie sheet. Peanut butter cookies have a different make-up to them and if cooked this way they would not bake evenly. As a countermeasure against uneven cooking, we press the dough down with a fork before baking.
Now, if you are turning your peanut butter cookie dough into my delicious peanut butter cookie bites, that doesn’t matter. There is a completely different process for preparing this recipe that does not require pressing or even a cookie sheet.
Preparing Peanut Butter Cookie Dough
There are two components to making these peanut butter cookie bites. The first is to start as if you are making a batch of regular peanut butter cookies. As with usual baking practice, peanut butter cookie dough starts with a wet and a dry mixture of ingredients.
The wet mixture has two stages. The first stage incorporates white and brown sugar into a mixture of real unsalted butter and peanut butter. Make sure that these are well blended into a creamy texture before continuing onto the next stage.
The butter you use should be room temperature. Using cold butter is another way to get dry crumbly cookies.
The rest of the wet mixture will include room temperature eggs (for the same reason as the butter), corn syrup, and vanilla. Once all ingredients are combined, there is another step to preparing the dough for these peanut butter cookie bites. Refrigeration. The dough will need to chill in a covered bowl for about an hour before you continue on with the recipe.
The next part of preparing these peanut butter cookie bites is to select the right cooking tray. These cookies will not be pressed on a cookie sheet. Rather, they will be spooned into a mini muffin pan.
Bake them just enough and take them out of the oven. Press in the mini peanut butter cups while the cookies are still warm and soft. Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the pan.
How to Store Peanut Butter Cookie Bites
Like traditional peanut butter cookies, these can be kept at room temperature. If you put them in an airtight container, they will stay good for up to three weeks. I don’t think you’ll have a problem finishing them off by then.
You don’t need to keep them in the refrigerator, but you can. Refrigeration will prolong the lifespan of the peanut butter cookie bites. While I don’t recommend freezing them, you can do that as well to preserve them even longer if necessary.
Bite Sized Candy Cookies
I love these delicious candy cookies. Peanut butter cookie bites are the perfect mix of cookie and candy to make an ideal treat. The size of these cookies are perfect for a quick fix or a prolonged snacking session. Lots of other cookies can include candy in the recipe as an added ingredient similar to chocolate chips.
What I like about these bits is that it uses the candy as a stand-alone ingredient and then reinforces it with cookie. For me, that’s what makes it unique along with all the extra peanut butter goodness in the cup.
Ingredients to Make Peanut Butter Cookie Bites
- Flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Butter
- Chunky peanut butter
- Sugar
- Brown sugar,
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Corn syrup
- Reese’s® miniature peanut butter cups
(Actual measurements are in the recipe card below.)
How to Make Peanut Butter Cookie Bites
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Unwrap 48 Reese’s® miniature cups and place in a sealed container/bag. Place in freezer until ready to use.
- Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat butter, sugars, and peanut butter until creamy.
- Add eggs, vanilla, and corn syrup. Mix until combined.
- Cover and chill for an hour or so.
- Using a 1″ cookie scoop, add each scoop into the mini muffin pan (I’m using a mini square pan for this recipe but any mini muffin pan will work).
- Bake for 8 minutes, remove from oven, and insert a mini peanut butter cup into each cookie.
- Let the cookies cool completely, then remove them from the pan. (You can put them into the fridge to help chill.)
Try These Delicious Peanut Butter Bite Sized Cookies Today
Here are a few more delicious cookie recipes that can be found on the blog:
Peanut Butter Cookie Bites
Ingredients
- 2¾ cup all purpose flour
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup chunky peanut butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp corn syrup
- 48 Reese's® miniature cups, frozen
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°
- Unwrap 48 Reese's® miniature cups and place in a sealed container/bag. Place in freezer until ready to use.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside
- In a large bowl, beat butter, sugars, and peanut butter until creamy
- Add eggs, vanilla, and corn syrup. Mix until combined
- Add dry ingredients into wet mixture. Mix until combined
- Cover and chill for an hour or so
- Using a 1" cookie scoop, add each scoop into a mini muffin pan
- Bake for 8 minutes, remove from oven and insert Reese's® miniature peanut butter cups into each cookie
- Let cool completely and then remove from pan. (You can put cookies in the fridge to help cool)
Notes
Nutrition
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Loved these bite size peanut butter cookies! A new family fave!
I made these today and they were so fun and easy. Soft, sweet, and full of peanut butter flavor.
I love pb and chocolate together and these are so rich and indulgent. What a fantastic bite!
Peanut butter and chocolate is truly the ultimate pairing! These look so wonderfully soft and chewy. They’d be such a hit on any holiday cookie tray!
Aww yeah. These are awesome. I’ll be making them again.
I made these last night, and we love them. The kids absolutely flipped!
These are the best. I loved the cookie cup with that partially melted peanut butter cup. Yummy!
These are so yummy. I love the peanut butter cup in the center.
Can I ask why the Corn Syrup?
Hi Becky, I usually add a little corn syrup to my cookies because I find it helps keep the cookies soft and chewy. :)
I absolutely love Peanut Butter and Chocolate – separately or together.😊
The pic you have for your Peanut Butter Cookie Bites makes them look so real that I can ‘almost’ smell them and taste them.🥰
Thank you for posting your Yummy recipes.
Hi Del, thank you so much for your comment. I hope you enjoy these cookies. :)