These Inside Out Peanut Butter Cup Cookies are soft peanut butter cookies stuffed with gooey chocolate centers for the ultimate indulgence. With flavors just like Reese’s or your favorite PB cup, they’re a delicious twist on classic chocolate peanut butter cup cookies. Learn how to make these unique cookie recipes to impress your family or guests with a sweet treat. Pin this recipe now to have an easy and irresistible dessert idea ready for your next baking session!
These soft, chewy, oversized peanut butter cookies are filled with ooey gooey chocolate and rolled in sugar for a delightful crunch with every bite! Cookies stay soft when stored in an airtight container yet sturdy enough for dunking in milk.
Why these are the best peanut butter cup cookies
These are like peanut butter cookies on steroids! They're extra large, and they have a surprise inside - a gooey chocolate center!
These cookies are easy to make. Cookie recipes don't get any easier than this: beat the wet ingredients, add the dry ingredients, fold in the peanut butter, stuff, and bake. That's it!
The ingredients for this easy recipe are very common. You probably have most of the simple ingredients already in your pantry, and the remaining couple are available in every grocery I've ever visited.
These cookies taste amazing! You haven't lived until you've eaten an inside-out peanut butter cup cookie. It's like a Reese's cup but better. (Better? I don't know if they're better but they're pretty darn good!)
These cookies are jumbo! You need a big cookie to tuck the Hershey bar section into it, so these beauties are a handful, not a typical little cookie.
These cookies are soft and chewy! As long as you don't over-bake them, these cookies are the perfect soft cookie consistency: crispy on the edges and soft in the center.
This recipe is freezer-friendly. You can freeze the unbaked cookie dough ahead of time or freeze the baked cookies.
What you'll need to make inside out peanut butter cup cookies
Equipment
- Electric mixer - I suggest using an electric mixer to beat the sugar and butter, then to add the dry ingredients. You can do it with a whisk or spatula, but it's harder to do and takes longer.
- Baking sheet - You'll use this to chill the cookies and also to bake them.
- Parchment paper - Parchment makes the baking sheet nonstick without having to grease it. You should never grease a baking sheet that you're going to use for cookies.
- Scoop set - You'll want to make sure the cookies are all the same size so that they cook in the same amount of time.
Ingredients
See the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page for all measurements and nutritional information.
- Salted butter - This should be room temperature. I preach all the time about how salted butter only contains about a teaspoon of salt per pound, and this isn't enough to make a difference in a recipe. That is still true, but you need a little salt in cookies, so if all you have is unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt to your dough.
- Brown sugar - Normally, you would pack your brown sugar, but not in this recipe. Just spoon it into the measuring cup without packing it down.
- Granulated sugar - This is plain old white sugar.
- Creamy peanut butter - I like Jif but Skippy or another brand will work equally well. I do not recommend natural, low fat, or low salt peanut butter in this recipe as they will not taste as good.
- Large eggs - These bind the cookies together.
- Vanilla bean paste - I prefer vanilla bean paste over plain vanilla extract for two reasons. The paste has a much more potent and robust vanilla flavor, so I think that's important, but also, vanilla bean paste has actual vanilla beans crushed up in it. Vanilla extract is made by soaking vanilla beans in alcohol and then removing the beans. Vanilla bean paste is made from concentrated vanilla extract that has had crushed up vanilla beans added to it. If you don't want to get vanilla bean paste, you can use an equal amount of pure vanilla extract.
- All-purpose flour - You can also use a cup-for-cup gluten-free baking mix like Pamela's.
- Cornstarch - This makes the cookies stay soft and chewy.
- Baking soda - This makes the cookie dough balls spread out into those beautiful, jumbo peanut butter cookies.
- Baking powder - This makes the cookies puff up and have a light texture.
- Giant milk chocolate Hershey bar - This is the surprise in the center of the cookie! Reese's is owned by Hershey, and their milk chocolate is virtually the same, so if you want to replicate those Reese's peanut butter cup flavors, a milk chocolate Hershey bar is the way to go. (I live fifteen minutes from Hershey, Pennsylvania, where the main Hershey and Reese's factories are located. I've visited several times and know a little about their products.)
How to make peanut butter cup cookies
- Cream butter, brown sugar, and one cup white sugar in a large mixing bowl for four minutes, pausing to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times. The butter mixture should be light and fluffy when you're done.
- Add the eggs and vanilla bean paste. Beat for one minute.
- Fold in the peanut butter with a rubber spatula.
- Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir into the peanut butter mixture until combined.
- Cover the bowl of peanut butter cookie dough with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator while you prep the next steps. Chill for at least ten minutes.
- Prep a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Break the candy bar into segments along the break lines. Set aside. Place the remaining ½ cup sugar in a bowl and set it next to your work area.
- Remove the dough from refrigerator. Using a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop a ball of dough into the palm of your hand.
- Press a piece of the chocolate bar into the center.
- Fold the dough over it to completely cover it.
- Be sure to close all edges so the chocolate doesn’t leak through while baking.
- Roll cookie dough ball in the bowl of sugar.
- Place balls close together on parchment paper on the baking sheet. When all the cookies have been rolled, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour. This step is important for maintaining the proper shape, size, and thickness of the cookies during baking, so don’t skip it!
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Remove cookie dough balls from the refrigerator and disperse them onto cookie sheets covered with parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches between cookies to allow for spreading. Bake cookies for 20-22 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to brown at the edges.
- Remove cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. This is another important step to ensure these oversized cookies cook through the center and still stay soft. Don’t skip it!
- Move cookies to a cooling rack to allow them to completely cool. They will continue to cook even in this phase so if you break a cookie open right away and feel it’s undercooked, wait another 30-60 minutes and try again. If you follow the suggested timeline, your cookies should be perfectly soft on the inside and just a little crispy on the outside.
Baker's tips
If you don't have a cookie scoop, form the cookies into 2-inch balls before stuffing with the chocolate.
Refrigerating the cookie dough balls is essential. You need the butter to chill and harden in order for the cookies to form properly in the oven. If you don't chill the dough, your cookies will spread way too much and become flat and hard. Chilling is important for maintaining the proper shape, size, and thickness of the cookies during baking.
Variations & substitutions
You can make these cookies gluten-free by replacing the flour with Pamela's gluten-free baking mix or a similar cup-for-cup product.
You can chop some mini peanut butter cups and place a couple pieces on top of each dough ball before you chill them.
You can replace the Hershey bars with other chocolate candy - a Reese's peanut butter cup, chopped Snickers, or even a Rolo. I'm sure you can think of more; this is a very versatile recipe!
Storage
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to five days.
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks, but know that refrigerated baked goods go stale in under a day. Allow cookies to come to room temperature before consuming for a softer cookie.
Store in the freezer in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. To defrost, set at room temperature without opening the container until they are fully thawed.
Try these other delicious cookies:
- Easy Monster Cookies
- Mini Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Strawberry Almond Tarts
- The Very Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Homemade Thin Mints Girl Scouts Cookies
- Christmas Sugar Cookies with Buttercream Frosting
- Secret Hershey Kiss Sugar Cookies
- Thumbprint Sugar Cookies with Jam Centers
- Christmas Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles
- Perfect Soft Sugar Cookies
- Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies
- Gluten-Free Coconut Macaroons
- Pecan Pie Bar Cookies
Recipe
Inside Out Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter salted, room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar not packed
- 1½ cups sugar divided
- 1 cup peanut butter creamy
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 7.56 ounce Hershey bar giant bar, milk chocolate
Instructions
- Cream butter, brown sugar, and one cup sugar in a large mixing bowl for four minutes, pausing to scrape the side of the bowl a few times. Butter mixture should be light and fluffy when you're done.
- Add eggs and vanilla bean paste. Beat for one minute. Fold in peanut butter.
- Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir into the peanut butter mixture until combined.
- Cover the bowl of cookie dough with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator while you prep the next steps. Chill for at least ten minutes.
- Prep a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Break the candy bar into segments along the break lines. Set aside. Place the remaining ½ cup sugar in a bowl and set it next to your work area.
- Remove dough from refrigerator. Using a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop a ball of dough into the palm of your hand. Press a piece of the chocolate bar into the center and fold the dough over it to completely cover it. Be sure to close all edges so the chocolate doesn’t leak through while baking.
- Roll cookie in the bowl of sugar and place close together on parchment paper on the baking sheet. When all the cookies have been rolled, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour. This step is important for maintaining the proper shape, size, and thickness of the cookies so don’t skip it!
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Remove cookie balls from the refrigerator and disperse them onto cookie sheets covered with parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches between cookies to allow for spreading. Bake cookies for 20-22 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to brown at the edges.
- Remove cookie sheets from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. This is another important step in ensuring these oversized cookies cook through the center and still stay soft. Don’t skip it!
- Move cookies to a cooling rack to allow them to completely cool. They will continue to cook even at this phase so if you break a cookie open right away and feel it’s undercooked, wait another 30-60 minutes and try again. If you follow the suggested timeline, your cookies should be perfectly soft on the inside and firm on the outside.
Alisen says
So decadent and delicious! They were gone in minutes.