Peanut Butter Chocolate Meltaway Cookies

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Meltaway Cookies – for the chocolate and peanut butter lover in your life! These light little bite-sized cookies are not too sweet and get a nice salty bite from the crushed roasted peanuts.

Cookies are a great dessert choice and always welcome at get togethers, special occasions and events, and even just because! These are our back-to-school cookies because today all the kids in our neighborhood are back to school. It seems like the start of the school year comes around more quickly every year, and I bet the kids think so too!

These light peanut butter cookies truly melt in your mouth.

Meltaway cookies are made with an eggless shortbread-like dough and minimal pantry ingredients. Be sure to use good quality butter so the cookie will be crisp and buttery, not greasy and flat. I used regular Jiff brand peanut butter in these cookies each time the recipe was tested. I haven’t tried making these meltaway cookies with an all-natural style peanut butter. Peanut butter brands like Jiff and Peter Pan have a creamier texture than all-natural, so I don’t know if the drier, thicker spread will work well.

The simple chocolate icing is made with melted chopped semi-sweet chocolate, peanut butter and powdered sugar.

Surprisingly the icing is not very sweet and sets up well making these cookies great for stacking and packing. It takes an hour or two for the chocolate to completely firm-up, so don’t worry if it doesn’t happen immediately. Even when dry to the touch, the chocolate icing is not hard or crispy. It’s more of a chocolatey glaze than drizzled melted chocolate and compliments the peanut butter cookie perfectly. Each time I’ve made these cookies I used chopped good quality chocolate for the icing. I have not tested with chocolate chips to see if it will set up the same, but in theory chips should be a fine substitute.

Please don’t skip the crushed dry roasted salted peanuts on top. That little salty bite and crunchy peanut really seals the deal! Chocolate and peanuts and absolutely made for each other!

As there are many children with food allergies these days, it’s always best to check with the teacher before bringing peanuts into the classroom. With that in mind, these meltaway cookies also make a great after-school snack or a little sweet treat for your office lunchbox.

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Meltaway Cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 11 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 31 minutes mins

Yield: 36 Cookies

Course: Dessert

Author: Tricia

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5 from 6 votes

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These light little bite-sized cookies are not too sweet and get a nice salty bite from the crushed roasted peanuts.

Ingredients

For the cookie dough:

• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
• ½ cup smooth peanut butter (I used Jiff or Peter Pan brand)
• ½ cup powdered sugar (57g)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (196g)
• ¼ cup cornstarch (4 tablespoons)
• ½ teaspoon salt

For the icing:

• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• ¾ cup powdered sugar (86g) plus more if needed for consistency

Instructions

To make the cookie dough:

• In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and peanut butter on medium speed until creamy. Add ½ cup of powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and blend again until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and gently mix on low until incorporated, scraping down sides with a spatula as needed.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch and salt. Add the flour mixture in three batches to the creamed butter mixture. Blend on medium-low until each addition is incorporated. Scrape the dough into a ball, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• To bake the cookies, preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop a level spoonful of dough using a 1-inch cookie scoop. Roll each into a tight ball and place two inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Press each dough ball gently with the flat bottom of a small glass or measuring cup, to the desired thickness. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Slide the parchment paper with cookies onto a wire rack to cool. Repeat with a new piece of parchment paper placed on a cooled cookie sheet. Cool cookies completely before icing.

To make the icing:

• Combine the chopped chocolate, milk and peanut butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of lightly simmering water (do not allow the water to touch the bottom of the bowl). Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat but leave the pan on the stove. Add the powdered sugar and stir until combined. The icing may seem somewhat thin but it will thicken and harden. Immediately ice each cookie with about 1 teaspoon of the chocolate mixture. Quickly sprinkle each cookie with chopped salted peanuts before the chocolate has a chance to set. Place on a wire rack and allow the icing to harden before storing cookies.

Recipe Notes

• To help the icing stay at a good spreadable consistency, keep the bowl over the pan of hot water while icing the cookies.
• If you feel the dough is a little dry, add another tablespoon of peanut butter. The moisture content in butter and peanut butter varies from brand to brand. I use Land-O-Lakes butter and Jiff and Peter Pan smooth peanut butter for these cookies. 

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. When multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Nutrition

Calories: 112kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 54mg | Potassium: 55mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 100IU | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg

Here are a few more of our favorite meltaway cookie recipes you might enjoy:

Lemon Meltaways truly melt in your mouth and are similar in texture to a buttery shortbread cookie. The lemon brightens the cookie and gives it an irresistible freshness.  Simple to make with just a few pantry ingredients they come together in no time.  Click HERE to get the recipe!

Coconut Key Lime Meltaways – a light and buttery bite-sized cookie with a big tropical flavor. Click HERE to get the recipe!

Here’s a link to one of my favorite cookie sheets. Click on the photo for more information:

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If you love the peanut butter chocolate combo as much as we do, you might like these recipes from some of our favorite bloggers! Sue from The View from Great Island made these gorgeous Peanut Butter Frosted Brownies that look so incredibly delicious. The icing is absolutely dreamy! Mary from Barefeet in the Kitchen knocked it out of the park with these No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Coconut Bites. What a great, easy snack that everyone will love! And finally, Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake has a great recipe for one of my favorite childhood treats – Classic Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies. A must try recipe!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Tricia