Peanut Butter Filled Brownie Cookies

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 both peanut butter swirl brownies and peanut butter stuffed brownies, brownie cupcakes with peanut butter frosting, a recipe for peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, (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!!)

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.

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. 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: 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!