Reese’s Pieces Soft Peanut Butter Cookies

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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!

stack of four Reese's pieces cookies

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.

two Reese's peanut butter cookies leaning on each other

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.

two Reese's cookies stacked on top of each other

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.

two stacks of Reese's Pieces peanut butter cookies

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 

overhead view of Reese's pieces cookies next to a small bowl of peanut butter

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.

stack of three Reese's Pieces peanut butter cookies. the top cookie has been split in half.

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. 

two Reese's cookies leaning against each other

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.

overhead view of unbaked Reese's Pieces peanut butter cookie dough balls

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.

stack of four Reese's pieces cookies

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.

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!

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!

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4.43 from 57 votes

Reese's Pieces Soft Peanut Butter Cookies

By Averie Sunshine
These Reese's Pieces cookies are are LOADED with Reese’s Pieces and oozing, melted chocolate chips. Perfect any time of year!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Chill Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 18 minutes
Servings: 26
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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

Note: The cookies shown in the photos were baked with dough that had been chilled overnight, allowed to come to room temp 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
Storage: 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.
Adapted from Soft and Puffy Peanut Butter Coconut Oil Cookies.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 169kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 17mg, Sodium: 83mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 11g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

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.

Soft and Puffy Peanut Butter Coconut Oil Cookies

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.

Front book cover of Peanut Butter Comfort book

About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

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Comments

  1. I think I just died! Reese’s are my fav and should be more available here in Australia. The cookies look AMAZING!!!!

    1. Thanks and you can of course use M&Ms or something else if you can’t get Reese’s but I agree – they’re so good!

  2. These honestly look like the perfect cookie – especially with the Reese’s Pieces! What a fabulous recipe! Just pinned :) Have a wonderful weekend!

  3. Lmao, Averie – you wrote a whole book on peanut butter but have never baked with Reese’s Pieces?! I’m so glad you finally did because they are ah-may-zing! I’ve been a Reese’s Pieces lover my whole life – it was such a huge treat as a kid when I got to each them (which was rare) and now, I love baking with them. These cookies are making me want to shove my face into my computer screen – damn they look good. You’re my hero for always having dough in the fridge for last minute baking urges. I need to model myself after you and do the same!

  4. Let’s talk about the photo SMACK in the middle full off oozey melty chocolate. I love you for that. <3

    1. Thanks for telling me that, Cassie! So glad you tried them and for coming back to LMK! Love it!

  5. I love Reese’s Pieces! I’ve baked with the Mini Reece’s Pieces before and loved them. I can’t wait to try this cookie!!

  6. Reeses + chocolate chips, I’m in!! These cookies look fantastic, I can’t wait to try!

  7. oh my gosh averie…the reeses pieces…and that melted chocolate chips…my kind of cookie. and love the photo of how you freeze cookie dough. what a great idea.

    1. Freeze it or keep it in the fridge for 5 days. That when when I want to bake 3 to 6 cookies, I can. So easy!

  8. You had me at peanut butter. These look incredibly delicious. I just recently used the pieces for the first time the other day in ice cream. There’s no lookin’ back now. I keep them stock piled in my pantry.

    1. I always have them on hand. That’s the funny thing. For eating :) Now they will be baked with more! Glad you’re on board as well!

  9. I love how adamant you are about your hatred of crispy cookies. Preach on! I’ve never baked Reese’s Pieces into cookies either, but I think it’s time to start. :)

  10. Come to Mama, you wonderful cookie!! This is a Reese’s and PB Cookie lover’s dream come true!!!

  11. I can’t believe you have never used Reese’s pieces before…especially given your love of peanut butter :-) These look like the perfect cookie to start with the pieces though. I just want to grab a handful and stuff my mouth full. Reese’s pieces are my favorite!!!

    1. You have quite a few recipes with them if I’m not mistaken. Don’t know what I was waiting for!