Loaded Peanut Butter Cookies

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This is probably the most loved cookie in my recipe box! It has a soft almost brownie like, cookie base. Soft peanut butter dream butter cream, peanut butter chocolate ganache and a few mini peanut butter cups on top for good measure. It is truly what peanut butter lovers dream of! Loaded with peanut butter and chocolate this cookie really couldn’t have any other name.

I got the original cookie from Your Cup of Cake years ago and have loved it since the very first time I made it. She has the very best recipes! I really do think she was the OG baker/caker/blogger Since making hers I have adapted several things over the years like I naturally do with all the recipes I make frequently. One of the most memorable times I made these cookies was for a church handout for my sunday school class years ago! You can see the handout HERE and the original recipe post of mine HERE! Check out that photo glow up! Not promising all my pictures will be glow ups I’m just hoping to get recipes up because they are all gold!

I created the idea of “Loaded Cookies” years ago that are essentially cookies that are topped with frosting, fillings and toppings! Stacked with all kinds of goodness and loaded with whatever kind of cookie it is! Hopefully I’ll share more! When I had my Bake Shop a few years ago this was a favorite item. I loved seeing them all boxed up. They are naturally so fancy and pretty!

Because they have a few different components it does take a bit more time than a traditional cookie. The extra time is worth it though! First step make the chocolate cookie base, frost with dreamy peanut butter buttercream, add a generous dollop of chocolate peanut butter ganache, and mini peanut butter cups.

I’ve made these for Dallin’s Graduation Party and put candy graduation caps on top!

And for a Bake Sale for my Dad’s station several years ago when I made loads of cookies. I did make them a little differently and made them sandwich cookies so they were easier to sell and pick up. They were a huge hit and we sold every single one!

These cookies are seriously a must make! So, so delicious and a family favorite. I use a small cookie scoop I’ve had for years, THIS one seems similar, to scoop out the thicker cookie dough easily. Then bake them on a cookie sheet with my favorite precut parchment sheets. I love to use these melting wafers for the ganache. I also love to use a 2D piping tip (found in THIS set) for the peanut butter buttercream to make it a little more fancy, but you can definitely spread it on with a knife and make sure to create a little hole in the center or use a large circle piping tip I like 2A (also in THAT set linked above) instead too! All great options that I’ve done before, but I far prefer a piping tip, makes it so fast and looks so pretty just make sure you get some disposable piping bags to make it extra easy! I top the cookies with cut mini Reese’s peanut butter cups and love how it looks, but you can also top them with mini peanut butter cups from Trader Joe’s or chopped larger peanut butter cups.

Lots of cookies frosted with the 2A piping tip! Below is lots of cookies frosted with a 2D piping tip!

I almost always double the recipe below. It will make extra frosting and ganache but I use the leftovers to make a batch of Loaded Peanut Butter Brownies! Basically the same concept but with brownies. They are so delicious! I make a simple brownie recipe from scratch I’ll have to share that, but you could totally use a box too!

I’ve been making these cookies for years and they really are a favorite of so many! Hope you love them as much as we do!

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Loaded Peanut Butter Cookies

The cookie that has been a favorite of so many and rightfully so! Brownie cookie base, dreamy peanut butter buttercream, topped with peanut butter chocolate ganache and a few mini peanut butter cups, this cookie is delicious and a must try!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Cookies, Dessert, RuthAnne’s Bake Shop

Ingredients

Brownie Cookies:

• 1 box Devil's Food Cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 C. vegetable oil
• 1 T. brown sugar

Peanut Butter Dream Frosting:

• 1 C. unsalted butter softened for 30 minutes at room temperature
• 1/2 C. creamy peanut butter
• 1 /2 T. vanilla
• large pinch of salt
• 2 1/2 C (287 grams) powdered sugar
• 2 T.-1/4 C. heavy whipping cream start with 2 T. and add more as needed
• 1-2 T. milk if needed for thinning

Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache

• 3/4 C. Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate melting wafers
• 1/2 C. creamy peanut butter

Mini Peanut Butter Cups, cut in half

Instructions

Brownie Cookies:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with parchment paper.
• Whisk cake mix in a large bowl to remove clumps.
• Add eggs, oil and brown sugar and stir with a wood spoon or other durable spoon until smooth. Batter will be thick and shiny.
• Scoop walnut/1 tablespoon sized dough balls onto cookie sheets and gently press them down to make them a little flatter.
• Bake for 6-8 minutes depending on how fudgey you want them to be.
• Let cool.

Peanut Butter Dream Frosting

• Cream butter in stand mixer.
• Once butter is creamy, add peanut butter and mix until creamed together. Add in vanilla, salt, heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar slowly to combine on low, or all at one with cotton cloth held around mixer.
• Once everything is combined scrape bowl to make sure everything is incorporated. Increase speed to high for a few minutes I usually do 2-3 minutes. If buttercream is still thick add a tablespoon or so of milk to thin it out.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache

• Place chocolate melts and peanut butter in a microwave proof bowl and heat in the microwave (about 1 minute). Stir until smooth.

Loaded Peanut Butter Cookies

• Frost cookies. I like to use a piping bag with a large closed star tip or circle tip to pipe out a circle around the cooke, leaving a small circle in the middle of the cookie and a small bit of cookie around the outside.
• Put about a 1/2 teaspoon or so of ganache in the middle of each frosting ring to fill. Then top with chopped peanut butter cups or whole mini peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's.
• If making loaded sandwich cookies, flip 2 cookies of the same size over and frost one side as described as above. Add a little more frosting to stick both cookies together well. Sandwich cookies together. Drizzle top with leftover ganache or chocolate and tiny chopped pieces of peanut butter cups. Let chocolate set.

Notes

-I usually double this recipe.  If you do the same (and you’ll want to they are that good!) make sure to double the frosting too but not the ganache!