Peanut Butter Chocolate Meltaway Cookies

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5 from 6 votes

Peanut Butter Chocolate Meltaway Cookies

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

Prep Time20

Cook Time11

Chilling1

Total Time1 31

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate, cookies, dessert, peanut butter

Servings: Cookies

Calories: 112kcal

Author: Tricia

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.

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