The Best Peanut Butter Brownie Swirl Cookies
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.These peanut butter brownie swirl cookies are made with a dark chocolate brownie-like cookie base and swirled with a sweet and creamy peanut butter filling. The perfect chocolate and peanut butter lovers cookie!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe For Peanut Butter Brownie Swirl Cookies
These peanut butter brownie swirl cookies are the perfect cookie for those who love the slightly crispy edges of a brownie. Pair that texture with a sweet and fluffy peanut butter swirl and you have a match made in heaven. These cookies pair perfectly with a glass of milk!
What ingredients do I need to make Peanut Butter Brownie Swirl Cookies?
For this Peanut Butter Brownie Swirl Cookie recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Unsalted butter
- Brown sugar
- White sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Kosher salt
- Dark chocolate cocoa powder (Ghirardelli)
- Peanut butter
- Cream cheese
- Heavy cream
Helpful Supplies For Peanut Butter Brownie Swirl Cookies
Below are some kitchen tools that I find helpful for making
- Stand Mixer – While you could make these without a stand mixer and use a hand mixer instead, I’d opt for a stand mixer if you have one!
- Large Mixing Bowl – I personally really like this set of Pyrex glass bowls that have lids.
- Non-stick Cookie Sheets – Super helpful for baking cookies and love the size.
- Cooling Racks – These stackable ones are my favorite! So convenient in my small kitchen.
How do I make Peanut Butter Brownie Swirl Cookies?
Read the detailed instructions below to learn how to bake these delicious cookies!
Preparing the Dark Chocolate Cookie Base
- In a stand mixer, cream together your butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until well blended and smooth.
- Add in the eggs, mixing in one at a time.
- Mix in the vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all of your dry ingredients until well combined and lumps are gone: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Begin adding your dry ingredients to the wet mixture about 1/2 cup at a time until the dough comes together and is well combined. Set aside.
Creating the Peanut Butter Swirl
- With your stand mixer and whisk attachment, mix together the peanut butter, softened cream cheese, sugar, heavy cream and vanilla until well combined and mostly smooth.
Assembling the Cookie Dough Log
- Roll out about 20″ of wax paper. This leaves excess on the edges – you’ll see why below.
- Take your cookie dough and using a large silicone spatula or your hands, gently press the dough onto the paper into a rectangle, approximately 13″ x 10″.
- Layer on the peanut butter mixture so that it evenly covers the cookie dough.
- Very carefully, begin to roll the cookie dough into a log, using the wax paper to help keep the dough from sticking to your hands. Once rolled as tight as you can, you can twist each end of the wax paper so the the cookie dough roll is completely covered. This will make a thick roll. Don’t worry, there won’t be many layers of swirls, so don’t feel like you did something wrong!
- Place the cookie dough log in the freezer for about 30-45 minutes or in the fridge for 2 hours or more before baking. Baking these cookies cold is important!
Baking the Cookies
- While the dough chills, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Once preheated pull your dough out of the fridge or freezer.
- Using a large knife, cut about 6 cookies approximately 1/2″ thick from the cookie dough log. These cookies are large. I can only comfortably fit about 2 rows of 3 on my large nonstick cookie sheet. *Note that your cookies could slightly come apart or tear, but they easily push back together. Rest assured that they do not require the “perfect” swirl to taste amazing!
- Bake for 10 minutes at 375 and keep the cookie dough in the fridge between batches.
- Allow them to cool on the tray for 3-5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
Tips for baking Peanut Butter Brownie Swirl Cookies
Be sure you bake them from cold! This helps them to keep them from spreading too much. They bake rather larger, so the more you can reduce spreading, the better!
How do I store Peanut Butter Brownie Swirl Cookies
Cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days in an air-tight container.
Frequently Asked Questions & Substitutions
Below are some common questions for this Peanut Butter Brownie Swirl Cookies recipe.
What if I don’t have cane sugar?
You can use regular granulated sugar. It doesn’t have to be cane. I’ve used both!
What if I don’t have Ghirardelli dark chocolate cocoa?
It doesn’t have to be Ghirardelli dark chocolate cocoa, but that is our favorite. It’s perfect for cookies, brownies and hot cocoa! We always keep some on hand.
Can I use milk instead of heavy cream?
Yes! Though, I haven’t tried it personally, it should be fine. However, instead of 1/4 cup, you may want to reduce the amount to 2-3 tablespoons since milk is thinner than cream. We don’t want the peanut butter filling to be too thin.
When I cut my cookies from the log, they sometimes come apart, did I do something wrong?
Nope! Your cookies could slightly come apart or tear as you cut them off the log, but they easily push back together. Rest assured that they do not require the “perfect” swirl to taste amazing!
It’s quite simple to make these maple peanut butter cookies. You simply pull together cookie dough and let it chill. Bake the cookies. Let them cool completely. Make your maple icing and drizzle. Allow them to set for an hour and ta-da!
The Best Peanut Butter Brownie Swirl Cookies
Ingredients
Dark Chocolate Cookie Base
- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup sugar organic cane
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups flour all-purpose
- 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder ghirardelli
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
Peanut Butter Swirl
- 1 cup peanut butter smooth
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup sugar organic cane
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Preparing the Dark Chocolate Cookie Base
- In a stand mixer, cream together your butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until well blended and smooth.
- Add in the eggs, mixing in one at a time.
- Mix in the vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all of your dry ingredients until well combined and lumps are gone: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Begin adding your dry ingredients to the wet mixture about 1/2 cup at a time until the dough comes together and is well combined. Set aside.
Creating the Peanut Butter Swirl
- With your stand mixer and whisk attachment, mix together the peanut butter, softened cream cheese, sugar, heavy cream and vanilla until well combined and mostly smooth.
Assembling the Cookie Roll
- Roll out about 20" of wax paper. This leaves excess on the edges – you'll see why later.
- Take your cookie dough and using a silicone spatula or your hands, gently press the dough onto the paper into a rectangle, approximately 13" x 10".
- Layer on the peanut butter mixture so that it evenly covers the cookie dough.
- Very carefully, begin to roll the cookie dough into a log, using the wax paper to help keep the dough from sticking to your hands. Once rolled as tight as you can, you can twist each end of the wax paper so the the cookie dough roll is completely covered. This will make a thick roll. Don't worry, there won't be many layers of swirls, so don't feel like you did something wrong!
- Place the cookie dough log in the freezer for about 30-45 minutes or in the fridge for 2 hours or more before baking. Baking these cookies cold is important!
Baking the Cookies
- While the dough chills, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Once preheated pull your dough out of the fridge or freezer.
- Using a large knife, cut about 6 cookies approximately 1/2" thick from the cookie dough log. These cookies are large and I can only comfortably fit about 2 rows of 3 on my large nonstick cookie sheet. Note that your cookies could slightly come apart or tear, but they easily push back together. Rest assured that they do not require the "perfect" swirl to taste amazing!
- Bake for 10 minutes at 375 and keep the cookie dough in the fridge between batches.
- Allow them to cool on the tray for 3-5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
- Cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days in an air-tight container.
Notes
- Your cookies could slightly come apart or tear as you cut them off the log, but they easily push back together. Rest assured that they do not require the “perfect” swirl to taste amazing!
- Be sure you bake them from cold! This helps them to keep them from spreading too much. They bake rather larger, so the more you can reduce spreading, the better!Â
- You can use regular granulated sugar. It doesn’t have to be cane. I’ve used both!Â
- It also doesn’t have to be Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate cocoa, but that is our favorite. It’s perfect for cookies, brownies and hot cocoa! We always keep some on hand.
- Â If you don’t have heavy cream, you could use milk. However, instead of 1/4c, you may want to reduce to 2-3 tablespoons since milk is thinner than cream. We don’t want the peanut butter fill to be too thin.
- Stand MixerÂ
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Non-stick Cookie SheetsÂ
- Cooling Racks (these stackable ones are my favorite!)
Pin This Recipe for Later
Not ready to bake today? Be sure to pin this post for later so you can easily access this recipe!
Other Peanut Butter Recipes You Will Love:
Here are some of my favorite peanut butter recipes that I know you’ll enjoy!
- No Bake Peanut Butter & Dark Chocolate Bars
- The Best Soft Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies You Will Ever Eat
- Soft Maple Glazed Peanut Butter Cookies
- No Bake Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars
