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Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Munchies

A stack of chewy chocolate munchies with the top cookie broken open to reveal a peanut butter filling.

These are the best soft and chewy chocolate munchies with a rich peanut butter center and sugary coating. Easy cookies for holiday baking!

As I’ve confessed many times before, we are big fans of peanut butter. Even better to some of us is the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. While that combination can no longer be seen as original, something surely can be said for its longevity in the world of sweets.

These delicious chocolate peanut butter munchies are like a baked version of the always popular peanut butter cup. Making them is a bit involved, with making the filling and wrapping the chocolate cookie around that. Then, they are flattened and sprinkled with sugar. However, with a little patience or (even better) a little help, it’s not very tedious at all.

One baking regret is that I wished I hadn’t flattened these chocolate munchies as much before baking. I think a little height on these would have looked better. Regardless, these are great little cookies that are great for packaging as a gift, sending in the mail, or simply on a cookie tray for your holiday guests.

Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Munchies

Yield 32 cookies
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 33 minutes

These are the best soft and chewy Chocolate Munchies with a rich peanut butter center and sugary coating. Delicious and easy cookies for holiday baking!

A stack of chewy chocolate munchies with the top cookie broken open to reveal a peanut butter filling.

Ingredients

For the cookies:

  • 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:

  • 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Instructions

To make the cookies:

  1. Stir together flour, cocoa, and baking soda. Set aside.
  2. In a separate bowl, mix butter, sugar, brown sugar, and peanut butter. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, beating well. Beat in as much flour mixture as possible using a mixer. Stir in the remaining flour mixture. Form into 32 balls, about 1 & 1/4 inches in diameter. Set aside.

To make the filling:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Beat together confectioners' sugar and peanut butter until smooth. Knead by hand if necessary. Shape into 32 balls.
  3. Slightly flatten a chocolate dough ball and top with a peanut butter filling ball. Shape the chocolate dough completely around the peanut butter dough. Roll into a ball. Repeat with remaining dough.
  4. Place cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking pan. Lightly flatten cookies with a glass dipped in the sugar.
  5. Bake for about 8 minutes or just until set. The cookie surfaces should be slightly cracked. Cool on pan for about a minute. Then, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens.

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    37 Comments on “Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Munchies”

  1. I really NEED to make these soon!

  2. Oh I’ve made these before!!! They’re DELICIOUS!!! Mmm I must make them again.

  3. Amazing. The sugar on the top reminds me of the Bourbon biscuits I ate growing up.

    Great stuff.

  4. Wow… those look absolutely gorgeous… and I am sure they taste just as good as they look, or even better!

  5. Hi! I’m a long time lurker who completely loves your blog. Everything looks so delicious!

    I would love to make these for a cookie swap. How many cookies does the recipe make?

  6. JEP & Danielle, I highly recommend making them ASAP.

    Graeme, I am more than intrigued by the prospect of Bourbon biscuits.

    Jenn, thanks so much! They were indeed very good.

    Ellen, thanks for de-lurking! This recipe makes about 32 cookies. Have fun at your cookie swap!

  7. These are just brilliant.

  8. Wow, those look fantastic. My hubby is the huge peanut butter and chocolate fan so I think I will make these for hism this year.

  9. I used to eat loads of bread with peanut butter growing up here in Sao Paulo. These cookies are favorites of mine, already!

  10. Those cookies are awesome! I must make a batch of those soon…

    Cherrs,

    Rosa

  11. Deb, they just so are.

    Peabody, I think these are an excellent choice for a peanut butter/chocolate fan. I hope he enjoys them!

    Patricia, these cookies have made it to my short list as well.

    Rosa, I hope you like the cookies! Let me know what you think if you make them.

  12. We are huge PB and choc. fans too. I have a favorite choc. cookie with mini PB cups recipe, but this sort of takes that to the next level. I like the recipe for the PB filling and the fact that there’s PB in the batter too. I’m bookmarking it to try.
    Julie

  13. I’m a huge fan of the choc & pb combo, so the idea of this cookie thrills me to no end! Definitely one for the ‘to-do’ list!

  14. Oh, I have this recipe, it is good. I never pull it out anymore though, and I don’t know why. I may just have to remedy that sometime soon.

  15. Julie, I hope you like the cookies! Having eaten the few we didn’t give away, I’m certainly missing them.

    Ellie, I don’t think any pb/chocolate fan would be disappointed in these. Let me know what you think if you try them!

    Courtney, aren’t they delicious? Break out that recipe and give them another go!

  16. I made these last night and they turned out great. I of miscounted my peanut butter portions, but Reese’s baking chips came to the rescue. Great out of the oven, but haven’t tried one yet today. Thanks for sharing!

  17. These cookies look heavenly! I’m going to bake them for my boys’ teachers – thanks for sharing such a great recipe!

  18. You took the cookie right out of my jar.
    These are a household favourite. In fact, “Greatest Grampa” requests them for every visit.

  19. I too love peanut butter…and you are right it is even better when you add chocolate. These look way to good. They look like good cookies to add to my holiday baking list!

  20. I made these last night and everybody loved them. They’re lovely, but the chocolate did not stand up to the peanut butter (chocoholic speaking). Next time I’ll leave the PB out of the cookie recipe (butter instead) and add lots of chocolate shavings or something to the dough as well. Or maybe just use a favorite chocolate cookie recipe with this PB filling. Love the idea and appearance of these cookies. Thanks

  21. Chelsea, good call on the Reese’s chips. A good improvisation and also a good shortcut.

    Marcia, I think these “gift” very well. They are just sturdy enough to be packed in a little box.

    Dayna, I can see how these would become a favorite!

    miya, let me know what you think if you bake them for the holidays.

    Lisa, a little extra chocolate would certainly swing the taste pendulum more toward chocolate and less toward peanut butter. I love to experiment with recipes. After all, we all have different tastes. Good luck, and let me know about your final results!

  22. I made these yesterday and they were freakin awesome…I used dark cocoa powder..Everyone said they were the best cookies they have ever tasted..Thanks so much……:)

  23. Sherane, you’re welcome! I’m so glad you liked them. I bet that cocoa powder was terrific!

    Lauren, your pictures look great!

  24. These were pure heaven! Thanks for sharing the recipe. 🙂

  25. A and I made these tonight. They truly are divine. One thing I loved about the making process was A could do many of the steps all by herself. Loved making them. Loving eating them. This recipe is a keeper.

  26. You’re welcome, Ngoc! Glad you liked them.

    My dear Nuwanda, I’m glad you and my favorite little girl got around to some cookie baking!

  27. When I saw this recipe, I knew that I had to make them for our annual cookie swap! I was definitely not disappointed and they were a huge hit. However, next time I may throw some rice krispies into the peanut butter filling to give it some crunch!

  28. Glad you liked them, Mandy! The Rice Krispies are an interesting idea. I might have to try that myself.

  29. hey! i’m an amateur baker, and these pb filled choc cookies look reeeeeeeeal yummy! Could you hand me the recipe and instructions?

    Please and thank you 😀

  30. oh lol! didn’t see your recipe link. Are the heat signatures in Celcius or fahrenheit?

    A big thanks to ya by the way!

  31. I made this last night and they were fabulous! As you suggested, I plan on mailing some out as a (birthday) gift. I think they’ll be perfect.

    I only got 20 cookies out of the dough, but I’m guessing that’s because I always seem to overestimate how much dough goes into a ball. As you suggested, I only pressed my cookies down slightly, so they remained really thick and soft. So delicious!

    Next time I may add a little sea salt to give a little salty crunch, and possibly a dash of cinnamon or espresso powder to jazz up the cocoa a little more.

    Thank you for such a fabulous recipe and for hosting such a great blog!

  32. amanda, I’m glad you liked them. I could definitely love the cinnamon addition. The sea salt, too. Thanks so much for commenting and for the ideas!

  33. I was looking for a treat for my husband and a way to use the last of my peanut butter. These cookies were heavenly and I’m definitely making them again.

  34. Please help! I’m making the peanut butter filling now, but it crumbles like sand and cannot be kneaded into a ball!

    🙁 Did I do something wrong? What should i do now?! *panics*

  35. Hilda, try refrigerating it for a while – maybe 30 minutes.

  36. You should know that I bring a baked good every Friday to my office. It’s become an anticipated custom & an extreme joy to be known as the Friday Dessert Girl.

    My coworkers are Peanut Butter Mongers (capitalized to portray their extremeness), so this dessert should suit their t-buds. I am a chocoholic, but I also enjoy PB. This recipe combines them in a simple yet duh-of-course-it-works-why-didn’t-I-think-of-this way.

    My differences/suggestions:
    – I made 27 cookies… it was more manageable.
    – Sugar-coated cup: After flattening cookies with the sugar-coated cup, I sprinkled on some coarse sea salt. I asked my picky brother for some feedback regarding this, and he approved. Plus, it provides a nice visual contrast to the granulated sugar.
    – I ended up cooking each batch ~11 minutes. instead of 8.

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