Your favorite chewy peanut butter thumbprint cookies just got an elevated twist with puddles of gooey melted chocolate! We'll make the cookie dough in just one bowl with a wooden spoon - no fancy mixer required here. And once they've chilled and baked, melted chocolate is spooned on top for that perfect sweet-and-salty combo in each decadent bite.
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Thumbprint cookies are really versatile because you can fill the dents on top with caramel, ganache, or fruity jam like my jam thumbprint cookies.
And this pb version creates plush, soft cookies made with peanut butter (like, duh). They're popular Christmas cookies, but honestly, why should we let one holiday hog these cookies all to itself? They're so delicious any time of the year!
Honestly, the creamy peanut butter along with the brown sugar and pools of melted chocolate on top creates the perfect salty/sweet flavor combo! And the chocolate hardens once it's cooled, creating a crunchy topping on these irresistible chewy cookies.
I love adding nut butter in cookies because it makes the dough soft, chewy, and extra flavorful. Which is why I often rotate between these peanut butter thumbprint cookies, my 2 ingredient peanut butter cookies, and my almond butter oatmeal cookies.
Elevating Classic PB Thumbprint Cookies
Classic American versions of peanut butter thumbprint cookies are often topped with Hershey’s kisses. But between you and me, that’s a lot of work to unwrap all those individual chocolates. So to make things easier but also more elevated, we’re using high quality baking chocolate. The chocolate melts and creates puddles of ooey, gooey, goodness. Yummm.
A Few Notes on Ingredients
- If you use natural peanut butter, make sure you stir it because oil can sit at the top and if you just add that to your cookies, it’ll throw off the texture and flavor.
- If your peanut butter only contains peanuts without added salt, you may want to increase the salt added to the cookie dough to ½ teaspoon.
- For the best flavor, I recommend using the highest quality chocolate you can find! Lindt, Ghirardelli, and Baker's are some of my go-to brands.
- 10 ounces of chocolate is slightly more than one bar (which usually come in 8 ounces). Save the rest of your chocolate to make German hot chocolate!
How to Make this Recipe
Below is the process to make this recipe. For the full step-by-step directions and ingredient quantities, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1. Mix the butter and brown sugar until it’s creamy.
2. Mix in the egg, peanut butter, vanilla extract, and salt.
3. Mix in the flour. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
5. Press a dent in the top of each cookie. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes.
7. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, re-press the indentations on top.
4. Shape into balls about 1½ inches in diameter.
6. While the cookies bake, melt the chocolate.
8. Spoon the melted chocolate into the dent on each cookie.
Ooey Gooey Chocolate
You can certainly eat your cookies right after adding the chocolate, but it'll be pretty melty & things could get messy.
Instead, I recommend letting your cookies cool for about 30 minutes so the chocolate can become a little more firm, but still soft & warm.
Recipe Testing Notes from Carissa's Kitchen
I don't know about you, but I always appreciate reading how a recipe failed, so I can learn from someone else's mistakes. So if you're anything like me, keep reading to hear what I did that definitely did not work.
First, I chopped the chocolate into really tiny pieces and placed it into the dents. I was honestly hoping the chocolate would melt as the cookies baked. However, the chocolate didn't melt completely, and will it lost a lot of volume leaving them only half full of chocolate and very sad looking.
Second, I tried baking the cookies with the melted chocolate already added onto the cookie dough. However, this made the chocolate look dry and cracked once the cookies came out of the oven. We're going for a glossy, smooth chocolate, so wait 'til these puppies come out of the oven!
Tips to Make Bakery-Worthy Cookies
- Melted Chocolate: I recommend using baking chocolate instead of chocolate chips. Baking chocolate doesn't contain the same stabilizers that chocolate chips do, so it melts much more evenly and smoothly.
- Salted Dark Chocolate: Planning to make these for a special occasion or a special someone?? Swap out the semi-sweet chocolate for dark chocolate and sprinkle a little flaky sea salt on top for the ultimate treat.
- Shaping the Dough: If your dough cracks at all, just gently press it back together. And make sure you don’t poke a dent all the way through to the baking sheet.
How to Store Cookies
Listen, I'm not even going to pretend that these cookies last more than 2 days in our house. The soft cookies + chewy chocolate are freaking irresistible!
But if you find yourself needing to store leftovers, allow the cookies to cool completely. Then store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Or freeze them for up to 3 months.
Hungry for more thumbprint cookies? Try my jam thumbprint cookies and nutella thumbprint cookies!
Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (1 stick)
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt (use table salt or fine sea salt)
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 10 ounces quality semi-sweet baking chocolate (see note below)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the softened butter and brown sugar with a large wooden spoon until it’s creamy.
- Add in the egg, peanut butter, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix with your spoon until it's well combined.
- Add the flour and mix until it forms a cohesive, soft dough. Cover your mixing bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour in the fridge.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Shape the dough into small balls about 1½ inches in diameter. Use the back of a teaspoon or the end of a wooden spoon to form a round dent in the top of each cookie. Place them evenly spread out on your prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until the cookies turn golden brown on the very bottom edges.
- While the cookies bake, melt the chocolate. Break up the chocolate bar into small pieces and microwave it on 30 second intervals, stirring after each time, until it’s melted and smooth. Set aside.
- As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, re-press the indentations in the top with your spoon while they’re still warm.Spoon the melted chocolate into the dent on each cookie, making sure each one is filled to the top.Transfer them to a cooling rack to cool for at least 20 minutes. Enjoy!!
Notes
- Melted Chocolate: I recommend using baking chocolate instead of chocolate chips. Baking chocolate doesn't contain the same stabilizers that chocolate chips do, so it melts much more evenly and smoothly. And for the best flavor, I recommend using the highest quality chocolate you can find - Lindt, Ghirardelli, and Baker's are some of my go-to brands.
- Peanut Butter: If you use natural peanut butter, make sure you stir it because oil can sit at the top and if you just add that to your cookies, it’ll throw off the texture and flavor. And if your peanut butter only contains peanuts without added salt, you may want to increase the salt added to the cookie dough to ½ teaspoon.
- Shaping the Dough: If your dough cracks at all, just gently press it back together. And make sure you don’t poke a dent all the way through to the baking sheet.
- Storing: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Bekah Grimm
So easy and so delicious. Thank you so very much for this gem
Carissa Erzen
I'm so glad to hear that, Bekah! Thanks!
Mila
I tried these and loved them! They are like the jam thumbprint cookies you have but less sweet flavor which I like
Carissa Erzen
Exactly! I also have jam thumbprint cookies on the blog, if you want that fruity flavor 😉