These Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies are like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in cookie sandwich form! They're soft and thick peanut butter cookies smushed together with chocolate ganache! The cookies are so good they can stand on their own, but I'm never going to pass up a chocolate and peanut butter situation, ya know? Plus, both components are pretty easy to whip up!
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What You Need to Make This Recipe
Ingredients:
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Creamy peanut butter
- Heavy whipping cream
- Chocolate chips
Equipment:
- Baking sheet(s)
- Cookie scoop
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Scale/measuring cups
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment
- Piping bag (round tip optional)
If you like these, you'll love my Almond Butter Blossom cookies!
Step by Step Instructions
Peanut Butter Cookies
STEP ONE (Picture 1 below) - Mix together the dry ingredients.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
STEP TWO (Picture 2 below) - Combine the wet ingredients & add the dry ones.
In a large bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the softened butter and both sugars until light and fluffy (medium speed for about 2 minutes). Scrape the sides as needed to make sure everything gets incorporated! Add the peanut butter, egg and vanilla extract, mixing well after each addition. Gently stir in the dry ingredients so that no flour streaks are visible.
STEP THREE (Pictures 3-4 below) - Roll & bake.
Using a medium sized cookie scoop, grab scoopfuls of dough (about 2 tablespoons each) and roll them into a neat ball. Place them on baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies until the edges turn slightly tan and they start to crack a bit.
Chocolate Ganache & Assembly
STEP FOUR (Picture 1 below) - Make the chocolate ganache.
Add the chocolate to a bowl so that it's spread out evenly on the bottom. Heat the cream in the microwave or over the stove stirring frequently so that it's heated evenly. Once it begins to boil, remove it from the heat and pour it over the chocolate so it's all completely covered. Place a lid or plate on top of the bowl to trap the heat for 5 minutes. Then, stir it around with a spatula until it's creamy and homogenous. It'll need to cool for a while to thicken before you can assemble the whoopie pies, so I like to do this before I make the cookie dough.
STEP FIVE (Picture 2 below) - Assemble the whoopie pies.
Place the thickened ganache in a piping bag with a medium round tip (or a plastic bag with the end cut off). Pair the cookies up and swirl the ganache onto half of them, and then form the cookie sandwiches!
Why This Recipe Works
- Chocolate and peanut butter are a clear match made in heaven!
- Whoopie pies are generally filled with marshmallow cream or buttercream. While those options are delicious, they can be very high in sugar. The chocolate ganache is just made with chocolate and heavy whipping cream, so it's easy and less sugary!
- These peanut butter cookies are naturally soft & thick, making them perfect for whoopie pies. They're very enjoyable on their own but go super well with the chocolate! However, if you wanted to skip the ganache, you could toss some chocolate chips into the batter instead!
FAQ & Storage
Be sure to use good quality chocolate that's at least about 60% cacoa. This can be in chocolate chip, chunk, or bar form. Using lower quality chocolate can result in grainy ganache or it may not thicken properly.
I recommend using creamy regular peanut butter. If you use natural peanut butter, try to leave out the oil. If you want to add more texture, chunky peanut butter can be used.
No, but I'd love to hear how they turn out if you try them with gluten free ingredients!
In an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. They can also be stored in the freezer for 1 month.
Did you try this recipe?
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๐ Recipe
Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies
Equipment
- Baking sheet(s)
- Cookie scoop
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Scale/measuring cups
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment
- Piping bag (round tip optional)
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cookies
- ยฝ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter room temperature
- ยฝ cup granulated sugar
- ยผ cup light brown sugar packed
- ยฝ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1ยพ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ยฝ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ยผ teaspoon salt
Chocolate Ganache
- ยพ cup chocolate good quality (at least 60% cacao) chips, chunks, or bar chopped into small pieces
- ยฝ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Chocolate Ganache
- Place the chocolate in a small/medium sized bowl so that it's spread across the bottom evenly.
- Heat the heavy whipping cream in the microwave or over the stove (medium-low heat) until it comes to a boil. Stir frequently to ensure it's heated evenly.
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate so that it's completely covered, then place a lid or plate on top to trap in the heat. Wait for 5 minutes.
- Using a spatula, stir the mixture in a circular motion until it's a smooth, homogenous mixture. Let it cool and thicken while making the cookies. (You can speed it up by placing it in the refrigerator, but be sure to stir it every once in a while.)
Peanut Butter Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350ยฐF and line 1-2 baking sheets with parchment paper (optional for easier cleanup).
- In a small/medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars for about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides as necessary. Add the peanut butter, egg and vanilla extract, mixing well after each addition.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and gently stir to combine until all flour streaks have disappeared.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, grab scoopfuls (about 2 tablespoons each) of cookie dough and roll them into neat balls. Place them on the baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies until the edges are tan and they start to crack slightly on top (about 10-14 minutes). Let them cool on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack.
Assemble the Whoopie Pies
- Once the cookies are completely cooled and the ganache has thickened, transfer the ganache to a piping bag with a medium round tip (or a plastic bag with the end cut off, about ยฝ inch diameter).
- Pair the cookies up and pipe chocolate swirls onto half of them. Sandwich them together with the unfrosted cookies and enjoy!
Andre E. says
These were absolutely amazing! Was the perfect cure for my sweet tooth.. even better that it paired great with a stout! *chefs kiss or bakers kiss (if thatโs a thing)*
Kayla says
Thanks Andre, I'm happy to hear that they pair well with stouts! ๐ป