Fudgy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Rich, with a fudgy texture, these cookies use only the best cocoa and chocolate ingredients for pure, dark-chocolatey bliss. If you’re a chocolate and peanut butter aficionado - meet your new favorite [organic, fair trade] cookie.
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Effort: Medium* |
Total: 50 min Active: 30 min |
Yield: 45 cookies |
*This recipe is easiest with a stand mixer.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 Cup (4 oz.) Cocoa Butter
- 1/2 Cup (4 oz.) Peanut Butter
- 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
- 3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1/2 Cup Ground Cacao Beans or Nibs
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 1/4 Cup Flour
- 8 oz. Dark Chocolate Chunks
- 8 oz. Mini Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Melt Cocoa Butter in oven while preheating.
- Peel wrappers off of Peanut Butter Cups.
- Beat together Cocoa Butter, Peanut Butter, Brown Sugar, Granulated Sugar and Vanilla Extract until creamy.
- Fold in egg.
- Fold in Cacao Beans, Baking Soda and Baking Powder until evenly distributed.
- Add flour on low speed until dough combines.
- Add chocolate chunks and peanut butter cups.
- Top cookie sheet with wax paper or silicone liner for baking.
- Scoop dough out in heaping tablespoons. Roll into balls and press down onto baking liner.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes.
- Remove from cookie sheet to cool.
Notes:
This is one of my (Kim's) signature cookie recipes perfected over multiple decades. When I was growing up, I wanted to be the next Mrs. Fields. I love this cookie recipe because it's a crowd-pleaser and remarkably forgiving for substitutions. A few things I've learned over the years:
- Cocoa Butter - You can substitute other butters or oils, but they will not taste as chocolatey.
- Nut Butter - Substitute any nut butter you enjoy. Though both work equally well, I prefer creamy for this recipe.
- Brown Sugar - This is important for the soft, fudgy texture. Don't try to substitute this.
- Cacao Beans or Nibs (Ground) - I used unsweetened, natural cocoa powder for years. The cookies are richer and texture better with cacao beans or nibs. I use a food processor to grind mine.
- Flour - You can reduce this to 1 cup for an even softer, fudgier cookie.
- Nut Butter Cups - The bite-sized/mini cups have the best ratio of nut butter to chocolate for these cookies.
Food for Thought:
Nuts grow in the U.S., so when possible, I love to support domestic farmers! There are a few things I've learned to look for in nut butters:
- Single Ingredient - the best quality nut butters (unless flavored) have only one ingredient - the nut they claim on the jar. For instance, Peanut Butter should contain 100% Peanuts.
- Packed near the Growing Region - farming communities thrive when they also perform the more profitable step of making the foods we buy. A quick internet search can reveal whether the product is packed locally or shipped off to another part of the world. In this case, we'd love to see peanut butter made from domestic peanuts and packed in Georgia or the Southeast! Sadly, we were not able to easily find one... That's one of many reasons (in addition to flavor and quality) I love substituting Almond Butter for peanut butter in this recipe to support our almond partner Maisie Jane!
- Complex, Multi-Ingredient Products - Peanut butter cups are more complicated to find near growing regions because cocoa and peanuts don't grow in the same places. This is where certifications *can* help guide you. We recommended Justin's because they're the only 100% organic and fair-trade peanut butter cup widely available.
Nutrition:
In case you really want to know this for a cookie...😉
