🥜 Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites 🍫
Ingredients
½ cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
½ cup of granulated sugar
½ cup of packed light brown sugar
½ cup of creamy peanut butter
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon of baking soda
¼ teaspoon of fine salt
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup of Reese’s peanut butter cups, chopped into small, bite-sized pieces
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat and Prepare: Position an oven rack in the center of your oven and preheat it to 350°F. Thoroughly grease a 24-cup mini muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray, making sure to coat each cavity completely, including the top surface around each cup. Alternatively, you can line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, which will prevent sticking and make cleanup effortless.
Cream Butter and Sugars: In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter, granulated sugar, and packed brown sugar. Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the mixture on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula at least once. Continue beating until the mixture is noticeably lighter in color, appears pale, and has a fluffy, airy texture. This step is crucial for creating a tender cookie, as it incorporates air that helps with leavening.
Add Wet Ingredients: Add the creamy peanut butter, the room-temperature egg, and the vanilla extract to the creamed mixture. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is completely smooth, glossy, and uniform in color, about 1 minute. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure the peanut butter is fully incorporated and no streaks remain.
Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisking them together ensures that the leavening agent and salt are evenly distributed throughout the flour, which promotes even baking and proper flavor balance.
Mix the Dough: With the mixer running on low speed, gradually add the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Add it in about three additions, mixing just until a soft dough forms and you can no longer see any white streaks of flour. It is very important not to overmix at this stage; overworking the gluten in the flour will result in dense, tough cookie bites instead of soft and chewy ones. Stop mixing as soon as the dough comes together.
Fold in Add-ins: Gently fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips and the chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups using a rubber spatula. Use a gentle, sweeping motion from the bottom of the bowl up and over to distribute the mix-ins evenly without overworking the dough. Fold just until the chocolate pieces and peanut butter cup chunks are uniformly dispersed throughout.
Scoop the Dough: Using a tablespoon measure or a small cookie scoop that holds about 1.5 tablespoons, drop rounded portions of dough into each cavity of the prepared mini muffin tin. Do not press down or flatten the dough; it will spread beautifully into a dome shape as it bakes. If you are using a baking sheet instead of a muffin tin, place the dough balls about 2 inches apart to allow room for spreading.
Bake: Place the muffin tin or baking sheet on the center rack of your preheated oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time (around the 5- to 6-minute mark) to promote even browning. The cookie bites are ready when the edges are set and have turned a light, appealing golden brown. The centers will appear slightly soft, pale, and underdone—this is exactly what you want, as they will continue to cook and set from residual heat.
Cool and Remove: Allow the baked cookie bites to cool in the pan on a wire rack for exactly 5 minutes. This brief resting period is critical; it allows the cookies to firm up enough to hold their shape, making them much easier to remove without breaking. After 5 minutes, carefully run a small, thin knife around the edge of each cookie bite to gently loosen it from the pan. Then, using the knife or a small offset spatula, carefully lift each bite out and transfer it to the wire rack to cool completely. If you used a baking sheet, simply slide the parchment paper with the cookies onto the rack to cool.
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