The Ultimate Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies: A Gooey, Chocolatey Surprise
Welcome to the indulgent world of Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies! This recipe takes everything you love about classic soft and delicious peanut butter cookies and elevates it with an irresistible surprise: a mini Snickers bar hidden right in the middle. It’s a combination that’s truly a match made in dessert heaven, creating a cookie that’s chewy, rich, and utterly delightful with every bite.
These homemade Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies are more than just a treat; they’re an experience. Imagine a perfectly baked, tender peanut butter cookie, giving way to a warm, gooey center of chocolate, caramel, nougat, and peanuts. It’s a sensory explosion that quickly makes these a favorite in any household. Whether you’re enjoying them fresh out of the oven or warming one up later (a quick 10-second microwave zap does wonders!), the soft and melty combination is simply to die for. You might find yourself wanting to bake an extra batch – trust us, they disappear fast!
What Makes Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies So Special?
At their core, Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies are a celebration of contrasting yet complementary flavors and textures. They feature wonderfully soft and chewy peanut butter cookies, baked to perfection, each encasing a luscious mini Snickers bar. This clever inclusion transforms a beloved cookie into a dessert masterpiece. The salty-sweetness of the peanut butter dough perfectly balances the rich chocolate, chewy caramel, and crunchy peanuts of the Snickers, creating an unforgettable bite every time. They’re surprisingly easy to make, yet incredibly impressive to serve, guaranteeing smiles and satisfied cravings.
Expert Tips for Crafting the Best Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies
Achieving bakery-quality Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies at home is easier than you think, especially with a few pro tips up your sleeve. Follow these guidelines to ensure your cookies are perfectly soft, chewy, and bursting with flavor every time:
- Mind Your Butter Temperature: This is perhaps the most critical step in cookie making. Ensure your butter is truly softened, but NOT melted. Softened butter creamed with sugar creates air pockets, leading to light and fluffy cookies. If it’s too cold, it won’t cream properly. If it’s melted, your dough will be oily, and your cookies will spread too much and be flat. The ideal consistency is when you can easily make an indentation with your finger. If you’re short on time, try placing butter in the microwave for 5-second intervals, checking carefully after each burst. As a personal trick, I often use the defrost setting on my microwave, as it warms the butter more gently and evenly, reducing the risk of accidental melting.
- Preheat Your Oven Thoroughly: Always preheat your oven completely before baking. A properly preheated oven ensures even heat distribution from the moment your cookies enter, helping them rise correctly and bake consistently. Placing dough into a cold or still-heating oven can lead to cookies that spread too much or bake unevenly.
- Utilize a Cookie Scoop for Uniformity: For perfectly shaped, consistently sized cookies, a cookie scoop is an invaluable tool. It not only speeds up the portioning process but also ensures that all cookies bake at the same rate, preventing some from being overdone while others are underbaked. This results in beautiful, uniform cookies that look professionally made.
- Bake on Parchment Paper or Silicone Mats: Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. This simple step is a game-changer! It prevents cookies from sticking to the pan, ensures even baking, and makes for effortless cleanup. Your cookies will slide right off, perfectly intact, without any scraping.
- Avoid Overbaking: This is crucial for achieving that desirable soft and chewy texture. When you remove your Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies from the oven, they should still look slightly underbaked in the center, perhaps just beginning to turn golden brown around the edges. Remember, cookies continue to bake for a few minutes on the hot cookie sheet after being removed from the oven. This residual heat, known as carryover cooking, is essential for them to set properly without becoming hard or dry.
Key Ingredients for Decadent Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies
The magic of these cookies comes from a thoughtful selection of staple ingredients, each playing a vital role in creating the perfect texture and flavor profile. Here’s a closer look at what you’ll need for these irresistible peanut butter cookies:
- Granulated Sugar & Brown Sugar: The combination of both sugars is key. Granulated sugar provides crispness, while brown sugar adds moisture, chewiness, and a subtle molasses flavor that complements the peanut butter beautifully. Always make sure your brown sugar is fresh and soft for the best results; dried-out brown sugar can affect texture.
- Unsalted Butter: You’ll need one stick (½ cup) of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature. Using unsalted butter gives you control over the overall saltiness of the cookies. As mentioned, proper butter temperature is paramount for a creamy, well-incorporated dough.
- Creamy Peanut Butter: This recipe calls for regular creamy peanut butter, which lends a smooth, rich peanut flavor and helps achieve the tender texture. While you can use crunchy peanut butter for added texture, it’s best to avoid “natural” or oil-separated peanut butters in most baked goods as their oil content can significantly alter the cookie’s consistency.
- Vanilla Extract: A touch of high-quality vanilla extract is essential for enhancing all the other flavors. While the recipe suggests 1 teaspoon, don’t hesitate to add a little extra if you’re a vanilla enthusiast – it truly makes a difference.
- Large Egg: Just one large egg acts as a crucial binder, helping to hold all the ingredients together and adding moisture and richness to the cookie dough. Ensure it’s at room temperature for better emulsion with the fats.
- All-Purpose Flour: Standard all-purpose flour provides the structural base for these delightful cookies. Sifting isn’t typically necessary for cookies, but measuring correctly (spooning into the measuring cup and leveling off) is always important.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: These two leavening agents work in harmony to give the cookies their perfect rise and soft texture. Baking soda reacts with the acidic brown sugar, while baking powder provides an additional lift. Always check their expiration dates to ensure they are active!
- Miniature Snickers Bars: The star of the show! You’ll need about 30 mini Snickers bars. A fantastic shortcut I’ve discovered is using the “Unwrapped Snickers Bites” if you can find them. They are roughly the same size as the miniature bars but save you the time and effort of unwrapping each one – making the assembly process even quicker and more enjoyable!
How to Bake Your Own Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies: A Simple Guide
Making these decadent cookies is a straightforward process, perfect for bakers of all skill levels. Follow these simple steps to bring a batch of warm, gooey Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies to life:
- Prepare Your Oven: Begin by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C). While the oven heats, line your cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats for easy cleanup and non-stick baking.
- Cream Wet Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, softened butter, and creamy peanut butter. Using an electric mixer (stand or hand-held), cream these ingredients together until they are light and fluffy, usually 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Next, beat in the large egg and vanilla extract until well combined, ensuring no streaks of egg remain.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda. This ensures the leavening agents are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Form the Dough: Gradually add the dry flour mixture to the wet peanut butter mixture. Mix on low speed until just combined and smooth. Be careful not to overmix the dough, as this can lead to tough cookies.
- Wrap the Snickers: This is the fun part! Take a spoonful of the cookie dough (about 1.5 tablespoons for standard mini Snickers). Flatten it slightly in your palm, place a mini Snickers bar in the center, and then carefully shape the dough around the candy bar until it is completely enclosed. Ensure there are no gaps where the Snickers might seep out during baking.
- Bake to Perfection: Place the dough-wrapped Snickers balls onto your prepared cookie sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown and the centers still look slightly soft.
- Cool and Enjoy: Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let the cookies cool on the sheets for 2-3 minutes. This allows them to finish baking and firm up slightly. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely, if you can resist!
Like any cookies, these are most delicious when eaten warm, allowing that Snickers center to be perfectly gooey and melty. Enjoy your delightful homemade Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies!
SNICKERS PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
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Ingredients
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature (1 stick)
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter (avoid natural, oil-separated brands)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 30 mini-sized Snickers bars (Unwrapped Snickers Bites work wonderfully and save prep time!)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
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In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, softened butter, and creamy peanut butter. Mix together using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Then, beat in the egg and vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
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In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Gradually add this dry mixture to the peanut butter mixture, mixing until just combined and smooth. Do not overmix.
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Take about 1.5 tablespoons of cookie dough and flatten it in your hand. Place one mini Snickers bar in the center, then carefully shape the dough around it, completely enclosing the candy bar. Repeat for all Snickers bars.
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Place the prepared dough balls onto your lined cookie sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown and the centers still appear slightly soft.
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Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. These Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies are most delightful when enjoyed warm, with a melted, gooey center!
Nutrition
Essential Kitchen Gadgets for Superior Cookies
While delicious cookies can be made with basic tools, certain kitchen gadgets can significantly elevate your baking experience and the quality of your results. These three items are staples in my kitchen, not just for cookies, but for many other recipes due to their versatility:
First and foremost, I always line my cookie sheets with either a sheet of parchment paper or a reusable silicone baking mat. These aren’t just for preventing sticking; they promote even baking by creating a buffer between the hot metal sheet and the cookie dough. They’re perfectly sized for standard 12×16-inch cookie sheets and eliminate the need for greasy sprays, making cleanup an absolute breeze.
Secondly, a reliable KitchenAid stand mixer is a game-changer. I personally own both a KitchenAid and a Bosch, but for cookies, my KitchenAid is my go-to. The paddle attachment, which comes standard with every mixer, is ideal for creaming butter and sugar and mixing doughs uniformly without overworking them. Investing in a quality stand mixer is highly recommended if you love to bake; it’s one of those small appliances you’ll use constantly.
Lastly, a cookie scoop is an absolute must-have. For years, I struggled with using two spoons to portion cookie dough, often ending up with unevenly sized and oddly shaped cookies. That all changed when a friend revealed her secret to perfectly uniform cookies: a cookie scoop! They come in various sizes (1/2 tablespoon, 1.5 tablespoon, and 3 tablespoon). For these Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies, I recommend the 1.5 tablespoon size to ensure ample dough to cover the mini Snickers bars effectively.
The Art of Softening Butter for Perfect Cookies
Achieving perfectly softened butter is a nuanced skill that can significantly impact the outcome of your cookies. You want butter that’s pliable and creamy, not melted or still hard. Here’s my preferred method:
I find the defrost function on my microwave to be excellent for softening butter. If you’re using a full 1/2 cup (one stick) of butter, you can leave it in its original paper wrapper. For smaller amounts, place the required butter in a glass or porcelain bowl. Set your microwave to its lowest defrost setting and run it for about 20 seconds. After this initial period, gently press the butter with a rubber scraper or your finger. It should yield easily, leaving an indentation. If it’s still firm, return it to the microwave for additional 5-10 second bursts. The key is to watch it very closely, as butter can go from perfectly soft to melted in a matter of seconds. Melted butter will make your cookies spread too much and can result in a greasy texture, so careful observation is your best friend here!
Storage and Freezing Instructions for Your Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies
These delicious Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies are best enjoyed fresh, but if you happen to have any leftovers (a rare occurrence!), here’s how to keep them fresh:
- Room Temperature: Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. For optimal freshness, separate layers with parchment paper.
- Freezing Baked Cookies: Allow cookies to cool completely. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe airtight container or heavy-duty freezer bag for up to 2-3 months. Thaw at room temperature or warm gently in the microwave for that fresh-baked gooeyness.
- Freezing Cookie Dough: You can also freeze the raw dough. After wrapping the Snickers in dough, arrange the dough balls on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer them to a freezer-safe bag. When ready to bake, place frozen dough balls on a prepared baking sheet and add an extra 2-4 minutes to the baking time.
Craving More Peanut Butter Cookie Creations?
If you’re a true peanut butter cookie aficionado like us, then you know the possibilities are endless! Peanut butter provides such a versatile and comforting base for a myriad of delicious cookie recipes. After you’ve mastered these Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies, be sure to explore some of our other cherished peanut butter cookie recipes. Each offers a unique twist on this beloved classic:
- Easy Peanut Butter Cookies: The simple, classic recipe you can’t go wrong with.
- Fudge Peanut Butter Cookie Cups: A delightful combination of chewy cookie and rich fudge.
- Best Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies: The ultimate merger of two cookie legends.
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookies: Double the peanut butter goodness with Reese’s candies.
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: A hearty, chewy, and satisfying option.
- Best Monster Cookies: A giant cookie loaded with all your favorites.
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Cups: Another fantastic cup recipe, this time with a chocolate cookie base.
- Five Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies: For when you can’t decide on just one type of chocolate chip!
- Peanut Butter Cookie in a Mug: A quick single-serving treat for instant gratification.
- Reese’s Chocolate Chip Cookies: Combining classic chocolate chip with Reese’s pieces.
- Reese’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies: A rich, chocolatey cookie base with peanut butter candy.
- Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies: Two soft cookies embracing a creamy peanut butter filling.
- Fluffernutter Cookies: A whimsical cookie featuring peanut butter and marshmallow fluff.
- Peanut Butter Butterfinger Cookies: For those who love a bit of crunchy Butterfinger candy!
Our Sweet Family Adventures: A Disneyland Churro Memory
Here at Family Cookie Recipes, baking is more than just following instructions – it’s about creating memories and sharing joy. Recently, our family had a wonderful Spring Break trip to Disneyland, and it was an adventure for our little Miss B! She wasn’t always keen on the stroller, so she certainly got her fair share of cuddles and carries from Mom over the three days we were there. She absolutely loved all the rides, but I think her favorite part of the entire trip was being introduced to a magical little treat known as the churro. Despite not usually being a big eater, that churro disappeared incredibly fast! It just goes to show how a simple sweet treat can spark so much happiness and become a cherished memory.
