Peanut Butter Reese’s Pieces Cookies — These Reese’s Pieces cookies are are LOADED with Reese’s Pieces and oozing, melted chocolate chips. Perfect any time of year!
Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies
I had never baked Reese’s Pieces into cookies until now. Thank goodness I’ve made up for lost time.
I’m not sure how I managed to write my cookbook Peanut Butter Comfort, filled with over 100 recipes using peanut butter, and have 75+ peanut butter recipes on my site, but have never baked those smooth little discs into cookies. I’ve used Reese’s cups, mini Reese’s cups, M&M’s, peanut butter M&M’s, and finally now Reese’s Pieces.
The Reese’s Pieces add a wonderful crackly texture to the soft, moist, tender cookies. I prefer my cookies on the underbaked side and these are soft, squishy perfection.
There’s a very slight bit of chewiness to the edges, but these are for soft-batch cookie fans. No crispy or crunchy cookies for me. Ever.
They’re loaded with Reese’s Pieces and there’s an abundance of oozing, melted chocolate chips in every bite. I almost skipped the chocolate chips and opted to solely use Reese’s Pieces, but I’m glad I tossed in the chocolate chips, too. Cookies just aren’t the same without chocolate.
The peanut butter flavor is distinct and full-on. There’s a hefty amount in the dough and there’s all those Reese’s Pieces.
These cookies are made for those of us who really like the peanut butter in peanut butter cookies. With some recipes you have to wonder if it’s really there or not. Not an issue here. Very peanut buttery.
They’re a snap to make and the dough comes together quickly and easily.
Calling all peanut butter (and chocolate) lovers! These are for you.
What’s in Reese’s Pieces Cookies?
To make this Reese’s cookie recipe, you’ll need:
- Egg
- Light brown sugar
- Creamy peanut butter
- Unsalted butter
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Reese’s Pieces
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
How to Make Reese’s Pieces Cookies
Add the egg, peanut butter, softened butter, sugar, and vanilla to a bowl. Cream until smooth.
Add in the dry ingredients, then fold in the Reese’s Pieces and chocolate chips last.
Scoop the dough into balls, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Once chilled, bake the cookie dough until the edges have set and tops are just beginning to set.
Do I Have to Chill the Dough?
Yes! Chill the dough so your cookies bake up nice and thick. Warm dough equates to thinner, flatter cookies and I prefer thicker and puffier.
I use my cookie scoop to scoop out the dough, put the mounds on a plate, and refrigerate. When I’m ready to bake, I grab a half dozen and save the rest for later.
Can I Add Extra Mix-Ins?
You’re welcome to mix and match the mix-ins as you see fit, but I wouldn’t add more than 2 cups total otherwise you won’t have enough dough to balance them out.
What Type of Peanut Butter Should I Use?
Use regular, storebought peanut butter. Old-fashioned Jif or Peter Pan Honey Roasted Peanut Butter are my favorites for baking.
Homemade Peanut Butter or ‘natural’ varieties are playing with fire in cookie-baking. Cookies made with them tend to spread, and I don’t have time to worry about a potential cookie flop or wasted ingredients, so I bake with what I know will give me success, every time.
Every recipe in my cookbook was tested with Jif because it’s universal and I know it works.
Can I Use Crunchy Peanut Butter?
Technically yes, but I much prefer using creamy peanut butter.
How to Store Reese’s Pieces Cookies
These Reese’s Pieces peanut butter cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
Tips for Making Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookies
I used semi-sweet chocolate chips to make these Reese’s peanut butter cookies, but you’re welcome to use milk or dark chocolate chips if preferred. You can also chop up a chocolate bar instead.
Likewise, you could switch out the chocolate chips for butterscotch chips or something similar.
Note that the cookies shown in the photos were baked with dough that had been chilled overnight, allowed to come to room temperature for 15 minutes, and were baked for 8 minutes, with trays rotated at the 4-minute mark. They have slightly chewy edges with soft, pillowy centers.
Pin This Recipe
Enjoy AverieCooks.com Without Ads! 🆕
Go Ad Free
Reese's Pieces Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter, do not use homemade or natural peanut butter; use Jif, Skippy, or similar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 cup Reese’s Pieces
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and electric hand mixer), cream together the first 5 ingredients (through vanilla) on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, baking soda, optional salt, and mix on low speed until just incorporated, about 1 minute; don’t overmix.
- Add the Reese’s Pieces, chocolate chips, and blend until just incorporated.
- Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping two-tablespoon mounds (I made 27). Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly with your palm, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet).
- Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not bake longer than 10 minutes because cookies will firm up as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
More Peanut Butter Cookie Recipes:
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Chip Cookies – Super soft, perfectly chewy, BROWNED BUTTER cookies that are LOADED with two kinds of chips!! An EASY one-bowl, no-mixer recipe for irresistibly DELISH cookies!!
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies — My favorite peanut butter cookies on my blog. There’s NO Flour, NO Butter, and NO White sugar used! Soft, chewy, and oozing with dark chocolate. Crazy good!
Easy 4-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies — These 4-ingredient peanut butter cookies are made with a secret ingredient…and lots of peanut butter, of course! These are so easy and fast to make!
Soft and Puffy Peanut Butter Coconut Oil Cookies — No butter used in these soft, tender cookies with dough so good you won’t even want to bake them.
Big Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies — These soft peanut butter cookies are the peanut butter version of a molasses crinkle. They’re soft, supremely chewy, and have an old-fashioned peanut butter cookie flavor!
Peanut Butter Blossoms — These peanut butter blossoms feature soft and chewy peanut butter cookies topped with a Hershey’s chocolate kiss. A classic Christmas cookie recipe!
Soft & Chewy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies — 3 favorite cookies combined into 1 so you don’t have to choose!! Easy, no-mixer recipe, and always a hit!
Peanut Butter Comfort, my cookbook featuring 100+ Peanut Butter Recipes.
Reese’s pieces is like my FAVORITE candy! You’re so smart to bake it into cookies…I have never had that before!
I find it hard to believe that you’ve never baked cookies with Reese’s pieces before! As usual, they turned out gorgeous!
Thanks, Eva!
Love Reese’s pieces! They’re sort of like crack and best kept at a distance LOL. Really they’re more like Lay’s where you can’t just have one. I like them b/c they aren’t quite as sweet as say M&Ms.
And they have that realllly smooth crackly coating which I love!
I love how much PB is in these cookies- no more wondering if it’s actually there or not! I love the melted chocolate ooozing out of the cookies!
Such a peeve when recipes aren’t peanut buttery enough. Either go big or don’t bother at all is my attitude!
Yay for PB lovers!! I cannot get enough stuffed into my cookies, and I love that you have so many versions of it AND chocolate. I’ll have six and an extra large glass of milk please :)
That sounds about perfect!
I definitely have a soft spot for crispy cookies, but oh my goodness, that melting! I can totally jump on board with these, especially because reeses pieces are my absolute favourite movie candy. Maybe I would sneak these in my purse. ;)
Sneak, for sure!
Cookies with Reese’s Pieces are seriously my favorite thing ever! And when they’re hot out of the oven and all melty – there’s nothing better. I’ve been wanting to work them into a pb cookie to double the pb punch.
Reese’s pieces have always been a a favorite DQ ice cream mix in for me, but somehow I have never done them in cookies! These are just amazing and all that chocolate oozing out! YUM!
Reese’s pieces are one of my all-time favorite candies, so these cookies look like perfection to me.
all-time fave? Wow these are made for YOU then! :)
These are like loaded with goodness and richness and chocolate-ness! Chocolate and peanut-butter heaven!
I can’t believe you hadn’t yet put Reese’s Pieces in a cookie before! Am glad you can cross that off your list now….but unfortunately, it’s making the rest of us drool. ;)
LOL and glad I have that effect on everyone :)
The yumminess dripping from inside of those cookies looks obscene. Which is not a bad thing.
OMG. These look so good I want to lick my computer screen! I love soft cookies too! Can’t wait to make these!
Thanks, Lisa. LMK if you try them!
Yum–PB with reese’s and choc chips (and these look LOADED– a desired quality for my cookie tastes)! I swear my brain just darts around when I try to decide which of your cookie (or bar) recipes I want to try next. I love your flourless PB cookie recipes (and was thinking about the cinnamon version in your cookbook plus a couple of others too) and then I see this one! So many cookies to drool over!!!
That cinn version in my cookbook is a fave for sure! Cannot go wrong with these…or really…any! My brain does the same thing too with cookies – decision overload :)
I may just attempt these with natural peanut butter-if it comes out poorly, I’m sure they’ll still taste good (mmm peanut butter)! It’s the only kind I’ll use and I’ve actually had a lot of luck baking with it. I’ve made several types of peanut butter cookies and I made your pb&j muffins with it and had great success. If I attempt it, I’ll let you know if it works!
I’m thinking I really need to get your cook book, being a peanut butter addict and all :)
Muffins are totally different than cookies with natural PB b/c it’s contained in muffin pan and can’t spread. Glad you tried them and enjoyed and it worked out for you!
And natural PB may work here, too; but as a universal statement, I never say that b/c if someone has a recipe failure, I’d hate to think it was b/c I said oh yeah go ahead and use natural PB and then that caused them to waste their time and ingredients. I just have to play it safe. If you try, LMK how it goes!
I tried it- and it was a success! I totally understand what you mean about not wanting to cause a recipe failure. I used Smucker’s Natural- that may have something to do with it. The cookies were delicious! Only problem was I had to substitute peanut m&m’s because that was all I had on hand, but it worked out nicely because they were red, white, and blue for the 4th- so I also added white chocolate chips and red, white, and blue sprinkles to make them super festive. Can’t wait to try it with reese’s and chocolate- yum! Thankfully I have plenty of people to give them away to, or there could be a problem- ha!
Glad they worked out wonderfully for you! R,W,&Blue MMs with matching sprinkles for the 4th sounds so festive and perfect! I bet you were the hit of all the parties bringing cookies like that :) Thanks for coming back to let me know tried them and they were a total success!
These look amazing, Averie! I love all that melted chocolate oozing out of the cookies.