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Chocolate Peanut Butter Stuffed Jack-O’-Lantern Cookies. Sweet and creamy peanutty buttercream, sandwiched between two chocolate sugar cookies and dipped into milk chocolate. They taste like a peanut butter cup, but in cookie form. Yep, there’s nothing not to love about these cookies. And to top it all off…they’re the easiest to make. Just as perfect for Halloween night as they are after an elegant Thanksgiving dinner. But maybe best when you’re simply in need of a deliciously sweet peanut butter filled chocolate cookie!
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Ending the week on a very sweet (and very cute) note with these chocolate Jack-O’-Lantern cookies.
I love these cookies so much. Sometimes I make recipes and they just don’t turn out. Sometimes I remake them and can get them to work. Then, sometimes I have recipes like today that originally were something completely different. But over the course of two weeks turned into an entirely new recipe. That is this recipe, and it’s probably my favorite of the month.
Because I mean, are these cookies not the cutest?! And what could be better than a chocolate cookie stuffed with peanut butter?! Especially one that’s covered in milk chocolate and a pinch of flaky sea salt too.
Nothing is better. Your weekend needs these cookies. Trust me.
The Cookies.
Start with the cookies themselves, which are essentially a chocolate sugar cookie. Similar to an Oreo cookie, but so much better…because these cookies actually have delicious chocolate flavor. The secret is to use dark chocolate cocoa powder instead of regular cocoa powder. Not only does the dark cocoa add a rich chocolate flavor. It also gives the cookies a pretty color that doesn’t fade away once the cookies bake.
The best part about these chocolate sugar cookies? They are so simple to make and so forgiving. I’m talking simple. Think beating butter with sugar, adding an egg, adding the dry ingredients, rolling, cutting, and baking. There is absolutely nothing fancy or complicated about these cookies.
Whenever I make any kind of cut out cookie, I always like to roll the dough out, cut the cookies, and then freeze the cut cookies on a baking sheet for a few minutes. This ensures the cookies hold their shape. AND I don’t have to wait for the dough to chill. It’s the easiest.
To cut my cookies, I used these pumpkin cookie cutters, but also made some circle cookies stamped with cute pumpkins. I preferred the pumpkin cookie versus the stamps, but if you want to go the stamp route, I recommend these cute ones.
The Peanut Butter Filling…
While the cookies are baking, make the filling…a simple mix of peanut butter, butter, sugar, and vanilla.
It’s creamy, salty, perfectly sweet, and tastes just like the inside of a peanut butter cup.
So addicting.
And on to assembling…
Here’s the deal. I’ve said this many times, but I am by no means a professional when it comes to decorating cookies. Early on in my baking “experiments” I tried so hard to create perfectly decorated cookies with what I’ve found to be, pretty flavorless icing. I was never happy with my creations. In fact, most times my efforts ended in tears. So instead of trying to create perfect-looking cookies, I focused on creating cookies that actually taste GOOD. Meaning no weird colored frostings, no overly sugared candies, and no food dies.
Just not my thing.
But decorating with melted chocolate? Yes, yes. That I can…and will…do!
For these cookies, I simply dipped half the cookie into melted milk chocolate. Then I drew on little lines of chocolate as additional decoration. To draw the chocolate on the cookies I used a small ziplock bag with melted chocolate inside. I then cut a tiny portion of the corner off of the bag off. This is my go-to trick for drizzling chocolate.
Finish each cookie with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. If you wanted to add a little festive pop of orange color, sprinkles would work too!
Not only are these cookies insanely delicious. They’re also just a fun, festive, and truly easy cookie that EVERYONE can make.
Meaning…great for kids, but fun for adults too.
I’m looking forward to recreating these for my family’s Thanksgiving, as I know they’ll be a huge hit.
Because again, chocolate and peanut butter. Best combo ever!
Looking for another Halloween cookie option? Try theses Milk Chocolate Stuffed Jack-O’-Lantern Cookies from last year!
If you make these Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Jack-O’-Lantern Cookies, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Jack-O’-Lantern Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons dark chocolate cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 ounces milk chocolate, melted
Peanut Butter Filling
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the egg and mix until evenly combined. Add the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, beat until combined and the dough forms a ball. If your dough feels too wet to roll out, add the additional 2 tablespoons cocoa powder.2. Generously flour your work surface. Divide the dough in half and flatten each half into a disk. Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Make sure you're using enough flour or your dough will stick. Cut out the cookies using a pumpkin cookie cutter or pumpkin cookie stamp. Carefully transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet and place the sheet in the freezer, freeze until firm, about 10 minutes. Roll out the leftover scraps, and repeat with the remaining disk of dough.3. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.4. To make the filling. Add the peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until light and fluffy.5. Dip half of the cookies, stem side down, into melted chocolate to coat about 1/3 of the top (see photos). Decorate as desired with additional melted chocolate. Sprinkle with sea salt. Chill the cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes. Spread the peanut butter filling over the cookie halves with no chocolate. Place the top cookie, chocolate side up over the peanut butter, gently pressing to adhere. Cookies can be served immediately or stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Just made these – soo delicious (with or without the extra chocolate 😉 ). I made these late at night and misread the butter amount, ended up with 1c butter (225g) instead. I’m not sure how they were supposed to come out but the extra butter certainly made for some delicious softer cookies. Definitely needed extra flour, but I’ll Bob Ross this and call it a happy accident 🙂
Amazing recipes as always and will be holding onto that chocolate cookie base for the future!
Hey Sara,
Happy Friday! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for giving it a try! xTieghan
Brought these to my grandson Peters birthday for him and my other to grandchildren chocolate lovers dinner. When they all took a bite the smile that came to their face made my day. I make so many of your dishes and desserts that I limit myself to just one cookie or slice and share the rest. And I have to say this is one of my favorite cookies Going to make them again for Christmas with a Christmas cookie cutter Thank you for sharing your talent
Aw that is so sweet! I am really glad you all enjoyed this recipe, Marie! xTieghan
I just tried to make these and it won’t form a ball.
The dough is dry I’m crumbling. I did everything to the T
I’m in Idaho and it’s dry and cold. What should I add to moisten up the dough?
The dough tastes amazing by the way
Hey Shanalie,
So sorry you are having issues with the dough. I would try adding a touch more peanut butter and see if that helps. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Can these cookies be frozen if made ahead?
If not, best way to store?
Hey there,
You can definitely freeze these cookies if needed. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I have honey roasted peanut butter and am assuming that if I add powdered sugar to it for the creamy center, it may be to sweet? How can I make it creamy? Should I not use that type of peanut butter?
Hey Kristi,
I think that peanut butter will be fine to use. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Is it ok to use “non” dark chocolate cocoa powder? I’d like to try this recipe but I don’t have dark ?
Hey Kristi,
Yes that’s fine! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Delicious and so fun to make. Decorating the cookies with the chocolate was the best part and my kids took part as well and thoroughly enjoyed it. The cookies are delicious; the chocolately outside that is crunchy but not too crunchy and the whipped peanut butter filling is just perfect. The only change I did was to use dark chocolate for the decorating instead of milk chocolate.
Awh that sounds like such a sweet thing to do together! I am so glad you all loved these cookies! xTieghan
I made these for our family and they were well received! I did not have the fancy cookie cutters , but used a more simple round cutter. Voila! They were lovely! After reading some of the comments, I wonder if elevation and humidity differences could have been reason for some of the outcomes..?
Hi Kimberly! Yes, elevation and humidity can also play a role in baking difference for people. It’s a bit tricky to manage! I am so glad you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I made these cookies this morning for Halloween tomorrow. My son and I just shared one to try them out … oh my goodness! They are delicious!! My 6 year old said they taste like peanutbutter oreos but much better! Great recipe!!
Thank you so much Theresa! xTieghan
These cookies are delicious! I’m planning to make them again (for the second time this week) and am wondering if adding coconut oil to the melted chocolate would help create a smoother chocolate dip? Mine didn’t turn out as lovely as yours
Hey Olivia! Yes, adding about 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil will get you a smoother chocolate dip. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I am so glad you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
These turned out just as advertised! I used Cocoa Barry Extra Brute cocoa powder and it worked great. The dough did seem dry at first, but I just kept stirring, and at the very end I used my hands to press it all together once or twice and it came together. Took them to a Halloween party and got great comments – everyone wanted to take some home!
Wow thank you so much for sharing these with everyone! I am so glad these turned out so well, Ashley! Thank you! xTieghan
Ugh! I’ve always had good luck with your recipes, so I’m not sure where I went wrong with this one! The dough never formed a ball- it sort of took on a dirt like texture and wouldn’t hold together at all 🙁
Hi Alicia! I am sorry you had trouble! 🙁 Was there anything you did differently at all? Any ingredients different? Method of baking this? Any info will be helpful to help me problem solve and figure out what might be happening for you. It’s hard to know without knowing any details. Hope I can help you! xTieghan
I just finished making these, following the recipe exactly except I used Fry’s cocoa powder since it’s what I had on hand. I found the cookie really bitter (and not at all sweet) and I could taste the baking soda, I’m not sure if it would be less bitter with dark chocolate cocoa powder…I will try making again since the dough was really easy and I liked the texture and of course peanut butter buttrcream is life.
Hey Jess! Sorry these did not come out as you had imagined. If you feel the cookies needed more sugar, try using 3/4-1 cup of sugar. I am not familiar with eh cocoa powder you used, but I recommend Herseys special dark chocolate cocoa. I hope you love this helps you! Thank you! xTieghan ??
Hiii any egg substitute?? Your recipes are really easy and yummy .thx
Hi!! Hmm, I am not sure. You can try making these more like a shortbread cookie and just replace the egg with an addition 6-8 tablespoons of butter. You might need to add 1-2 tablespoons water to help the dough come together at the end. Please let me know if you have any other questions and how this goes for you. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan ??
they look so cute and so delicious
Thank you Ruth! xTieghan