Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies

In our home, you cannot go wrong with the classic combination of peanut butter and chocolate! These delicious Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies are dipped in melted chocolate and topped with a sprinkling of chopped salted peanuts. These are so easy to make, so whip up several batches and gift them to your friends, neighbours, and coworkers!

For the past few years, I have been publishing a 24 Cookies of Christmas series, and each year, I include at least one peanut butter cookie recipe. These Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies are one of my personal favourites. Not only is this cookie extremely easy to make, but it is also in its basic form a shortbread cookie. The dipping in melted chocolate and the sprinkling of salted peanuts is what really makes this cookie so delicious. The three elements work together very nicely indeed!

In a previous peanut butter cookie recipe, I talked about the fact that peanut butter cookies were not a normal part of my childhood.  Most North American adults, between the ages of thirty and fifty, can easily identify with the familiarity of peanut butter cookies. I am not one of them.  My mom never made peanut butter cookies like other moms did.  I’m not sure if the seventies and eighties peanut butter cookie popularity reached Newfoundland or not. I can’t remember other moms making peanut butter cookies either.

Maybe that’s why I’m so determined to include a peanut butter cookie recipe in my Christmas cookie countdown each year. I’m simply playing catch up on missing out on all of those delicious peanut butter cookies when I was a kid!

I’m going to tell you all about this cookie recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. I know we’re getting closer to the big day, so it’s time to get to the cookie recipes! Before I get into this brand-new series, let me make mention of the three previous holiday confection countdowns that I just finished up this year.

Back in October, I kicked off the holiday season with a holiday recipe series called Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Donuts and followed that up with a second series called Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Appetizers. And now, I’m starting out on this new series, which is the sixth annual instalment! I cannot believe that this is the sixth year in a row that I’ve shared Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas! But, before we get to a list of ingredients and instructions for today’s recipe, let me tell you about this series and more!

LORD BYRON’S 24 COOKIES OF CHRISTMAS SERIES

Another holiday series, Lord Byron? Yes – why not!? Welcome, Dear Reader, to the fourth of my annual holiday recipe series for this season! This one is called Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas – Volume 6! I will try to keep the recipes in this series quick and easy, just like in previous years. Even if a recipe looks complex, I promise you that it is not! My goal, as always, is to share recipes with you that are not too complex to whip up as a holiday treat for your family. 

Like every other holiday series I’ve shared over the years, this series will share a new recipe every day for the next 24 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW SO THAT YOU NEVER MISS OUT ON NEW RECIPES!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series! Even though this is the fourth series for this holiday season, you can always look back at previous years if you just cannot wait until the next recipe is published. Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! Like in previous holiday recipe countdowns, I like to mix up the recipes in the series so that there is something for everyone. Are you ready!!??

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Butter – Make sure your butter is softened and at room temperature.
• Peanut Butter – Use smooth peanut butter. I have not tested this recipe with natural peanut butter and to be frank, I don’t think natural peanut butter will work without some adjustments.
• Sugar – Sugar will caramelize when baked, which will help to brown cookies and cakes.  In cookies, the sugar will help the dough to spread and will create a crispness at the bottom of the cookie.
• Honey – For added sweetness.
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Chocolate Chips – I use chocolate chips a lot in my recipes, and I change up the type depending on how I feel.  Unless the recipe states otherwise, you can use milk, semi-sweet, or dark chips here. I used semi-sweet.
• Peanuts – You can use salted or unsalted. I think the salted peanuts add more flavour.

LET’S TALK PEANUT BUTTER!

Before you are tempted to send me an email or a comment knocking my choice of peanut butter that is not natural and organic, hear me out! This recipe will not work with natural peanut butter. I repeat, this recipe will not work with natural peanut butter. There, I said it. Now, if you go ahead and make this recipe using natural peanut butter and it comes out a big, wet mess, you cannot blame me.

John.e uses only natural peanut butter, but I do not. I do not like it at all. Yes, it’s healthier and better for me, but I’d rather not eat it at all if I have to choose the natural stuff. I grew up on Kraft or Jiffy peanut butter and it’s the only peanut butter I ever use.

For these cookies, you have the choice of smooth peanut butter or crunchy. But, you do not have a choice between all-natural and sugar-laden, mass-produced stuff. The cookies will not hold together properly. Mostly, it certainly will not taste right. If you are completely against using non-natural peanut butter, as harsh as it may sound, this recipe is most certainly not for you.

HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE DIPPED PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside. In a saucepan, add the butter and the peanut butter. Over low heat, melt the two together, stirring well. Once smooth, remove from the heat. Add the honey and the sugar; stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add in the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until well incorporated into the dough.

Portion the cookie dough into 2 tablespoon portions. Roll into balls and place them onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space around each cookie. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to flatten the cookie balls to roughly 3/8 of an inch. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.

Once fully cooled, it’s time to dip them into melted chocolate. Transfer the semi-sweet chocolate chips to a microwave-safe bowl. In increments of 30 seconds at half power, melt the chocolate, stirring well between each increment. Once the chocolate is fully melted and silky smooth, it’s time to dip the cookies.

Working with one cookie at a time, dip it halfway down into the melted chocolate and set it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Top the chocolate-dipped portion of the cookie with a sprinkling of the chopped peanuts. Once all of the cookies are complete, allow them to cool at room temperature until the chocolate is firm. Transfer to a food-safe container with a tight-fitting lid and store at room temperature.

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

When it comes to most cookies, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop for long periods of time. Cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 3-5 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop. You can store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze your Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies, you certainly can! Once the chocolate has hardened, pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight-fitting lid too. I use these quite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!  

You can freeze these cookies for up to three months. If you plan to give previously frozen cookies as a gift, I would lay them out on a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. If packaging, wait until the condensation has evaporated. Whenever I work with anything covered in chocolate, I like to use a glove to prevent getting fingerprints on it as much as possible! Once thawed, pile into cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon, or stack in a cookie tin/box.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 200 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!