Chocolate Peanut Butter Valentine’s Cookies

Name: Chocolate Peanut Butter Valentine's Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 20
Ingredients: 1 stick butter, softened; 1 cup creamy peanut butter; 1/3 cup light brown sugar; 1/3 cup granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 1/2 tablespoons milk; 1 egg; 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup cocoa powder; 1 teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon baking powder; 1/4 cup nonpareils for rolling (you can use granulated sugar if you don't have sprinkles); 20 unwrapped Reese's hearts

February 4, 2019 // 27 Comments »

We somehow survived what felt like the longest January ever and I’ve got the sweetest reward for you. These Chocolate Peanut Butter Valentine’s Cookies are not only the most delicious chocolate and peanut butter combo, but they are extra sweet since they are for a good cause. I’ve baked up this sweet treat as part of the 2019 Good Cookies Food Bloggers Valentine’s Event to benefit out of my favorite charities, Cookies for Kids Cancer. I’ve been eyeing the Reese’s Hearts in CVS ever since they took down the Christmas candy, and challenged myself with trying to fit as much chocolate and peanut butter as humanly possible into one cookie. And based on the results, I think these cookies are a sweet success.

This is the third year that I participated in this great event. Last year I baked up these Chocolate Sugar Cookies and the year before these Frosted Sugar Cookies that I think are still the best sugar cookie & frosting recipe out there. When I was Marie Kondo’ing my kitchen pantry recently I found a whole bunch of sprinkles that I wanted to put to good use, including these Valentine’s nonpareils.

I modified the traditional Peanut Butter Blossom Cookie that I always make around the holidays and added some cocoa powder to the base, and instead of coating the cookies in granulated sugar like the blossom recipe, I rolled them in nonpareils instead. The sprinkles don’t stick quite as easily as the sugar, so you just have to press down a little bit harder to make them stick. I did half the batch with granulated sugar and half with sprinkles, and the sprinkles were the clear winner.

When you take these out of the oven and press the candies down on them, they will melt really quickly, so in order to keep their heart shape I recommend not moving them off the tray until they come closer to room temperature, and then chill them for a bit to harden the candy heart up again. I bet if you froze the candies in advance, that would also help the chocolate keep its heart shape better. Also, a word of warning, I’m pretty sure for every 3 hearts I unwrapped, I ate one of them. So hopefully you can exercise better self control than me.

Did you know that cancer is the #1 cause of death of children by disease in the U.S.? There are 40,000 U.S. children actively battling cancer right now. With less than 4% of the National Cancer Institute’s budget going to all childhood cancer combined, I knew it was important for me to get involved. Help us make a difference by donating to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. Our goal is to raise at least $3000. Because these three companies: Dixie Crystals, Mediavine and OXO have each pledged to match our donations raised through this campaign up to $3000. Thanks to many of you, we have reached our goal. You can still donate and help us make an even bigger difference! Donate here.

So if you’re looking to spread the love this Valentines day, bake up a batch of these Chocolate Sugar Cookies and consider donating to Cookies for Kids Cancer.

Yield: 20 Medium Cookies

Chocolate Peanut Butter Valentine's Cookies

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

The perfect combo of chocolate and peanut butter that's sure to result in cartoon heart eyes.

Ingredients

1 stick butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup nonpareils for rolling (you can use granulated sugar if you don't have sprinkles)
20 unwrapped Reese's hearts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375º F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or sil-pats.
Use a mixer to cream together butter, peanut butter, and sugars. Slowly beat in the vanilla extract, milk and egg. Scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding the dry ingredients.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder and slowly mix into the wet batter just until combined, being careful not to overmix the dough.
Using a medium-cookie scoop to portion out dough, roll each scoop of dough into a ball and then coat in the bowl of sprinkles. Place on a baking sheet at least 2 inches apart (I fit about 6 cookies per sheet).
Bake at 375 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.
Remove the cookies from the oven, and gently press the Reese's heart into the center of each cookie. All the cookies to finish setting on the cookie sheet for at least five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. I chilled mine in the fridge for an hour to get the chocolate to set again before moving them to a dish. Enjoy!