Peanut Butter Fudge Puddles (Cookie Cups)

Peanut butter fudge puddles are pleasant 2-bite peanut butter cookie cups baked in a mini muffin pan and full of a wealthy chocolate cream—a pairing of complementary flavors and contrasting textures for chocolate-peanut butter lovers solely! I obtained this recipe from a good friend, and the whimsical title makes these candy treats much more irresistible.

Once I consider the number of flavors that merely should be included in my vacation cookie trays, the assortment all the time consists of conventional favorites like sugar cookies, spiced gingerbread cookies and molasses cookies, and peppermint mocha cookies. However I additionally have to have a chocolate-peanut butter combo in there. As a result of… do I really want a cause?

Chocolate + peanut butter IS the explanation.

Whereas I really like basic peanut butter blossoms, as we speak’s cookies are somewhat completely different as a result of we’re making our personal filling as an alternative of urgent in a store-bought chocolate sweet. However I promise it’s simple to make! It’s a silky-smooth, oh-so-creamy chocolate filling, much like chocolate ganache, that stays gentle.

Peanut Butter Fudge Puddles Recipe Snapshot

• Texture: A barely crisp peanut butter cookie cup contrasts properly with the gentle, silky-smooth chocolate filling. A sprinkle of toffee bits on high provides somewhat crunch.
• Taste: Chocolate. Peanut butter. Subsequent query.
• Ease: Newbie bakers can undoubtedly deal with this recipe.
• Time: The dough wants to relax for 1 hour. Every thing else strikes fairly rapidly.

Fudge Puddle Elements You Want & Why

• Butter: Butter provides taste and construction. Ensure you have correct room-temperature butter, so it aerates and lotions with the sugar.
• Sugars: We use a mixture of granulated sugar and brown sugar on this recipe. Each for sweetness, and brown sugar for further softness.
• Peanut Butter: A very powerful ingredient! For finest outcomes, use processed peanut butter like Jif or Skippy—the identical I like to recommend for my peanut butter balls and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
• Egg: One egg binds the whole lot collectively.
• Vanilla Extract: For taste.
• Flour: All-purpose flour types the bottom of those peanut butter cookie cups. You don’t want so much; do you know that nut butters act as a binder and might really substitute some or all flour in cookie recipes? See these flourless monster cookies! Utilizing extra flour will dry out the cookies, so stick to the recipe under.
• Baking Soda: Baking soda helps the dough increase within the oven.
• Salt: To stability all of the flavors.

And for the chocolate filling, you want simply 3 elements: chocolate, mascarpone cheese, and somewhat oil to maintain it {smooth}.

These Step-by-Step Images Will Assist

To make the peanut butter cookie cups, mix the moist elements after which add the dry elements. That is a simple 1-bowl cookie dough. An electrical mixer is vital. Count on a really gentle and creamy cookie dough:

Refrigerate the cookie dough for 1 hour. It’s going to nonetheless be fairly gentle after this hour, however it will likely be simpler to mould and form. Scoop the chilled dough with a Tablespoon measuring spoon, and roll into balls. Place the cookie dough balls right into a greased mini muffin pan. That is the mini muffin pan I take advantage of and love. Should you don’t have greater than 1 mini muffin pan, you possibly can bake these in batches—simply preserve the 2nd batch of dough balls chilly.

Use your thumb to press down within the heart of the cookie dough ball and mould the dough up the perimeters of every cup. Like this:

Bake. They puff up within the oven, so flippantly press your thumb into the middle of every cookie cup once more (watch out—they’re sizzling!) or use a rounded spoon like a teaspoon once they come out of the oven. Allow them to cool within the pan for 10 minutes, after which switch them from the pan to a cooling rack to chill utterly earlier than filling. A butter knife could also be wanted that will help you take away them from the pan.

Success Tip

Don’t under-bake these cookie cups. In the event that they’re further gentle, they’ll utterly crumble if you attempt to take away them from the mini muffin pan.

Fudge Puddle Filling

You want simply 3 elements.

1. Chocolate: Chop up 8 ounces (226g) of high quality semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, which is 2 customary bars of baking chocolate. As a result of we’re melting the chocolate, keep away from utilizing chocolate chips, which comprise stabilizers that forestall them from absolutely melting.
2. Oil: A splash of vegetable oil helps the chocolate soften much more easily, and keep gentle when it cools.
3. Mascarpone Cheese: Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese. Not like the American-style cream cheese we use for cheesecake, mascarpone is somewhat softer, and is made out of heavy cream relatively than entire milk. We use it on this tiramisu recipe. The place I stay, I can discover it within the grocery retailer close to the ricotta cheese, and this recipe conveniently makes use of 1 standard-size 8-ounce tub of mascarpone.

Should you’ve ever made my recipe for chocolate ganache, chances are you’ll keep in mind that, to make ganache, we pour heat heavy cream over chopped chocolate to soften it, after which stir. For as we speak’s filling, we’re type of moving into reverse. Soften the chocolate (with the oil) first, then fold the mascarpone into the melted chocolate.

Utilizing a teaspoon, spoon the filling—as a lot as you possibly can match—into every cookie cup.

For further texture and aptitude, sprinkle the tops with some crushed toffee bits. I take advantage of the Heath model of toffee bits, discovered within the baking aisle close to the chocolate chips. You can additionally high these peanut butter fudge puddles with chopped peanuts, sprinkles, or flaky sea salt as an alternative. Or don’t sprinkle them with something in any respect, they’re good all on their very own!

You don’t want rainboots to take pleasure in this scrumptious muddy puddle expertise. It’s raining chocolate—hallelujah! 😉

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Peanut Butter Fudge Puddles (Cookie Cups)

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  Writer: Sally
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  Prep Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
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  Cook dinner Time: 14 minutes
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  Whole Time: 3 hours (consists of cooling)
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  Yield: 36-40 mini cups
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  Class: Cookies
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  Methodology: Baking
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  Delicacies: American

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Description

These pleasant 2-bite peanut butter cookie cups are generally known as peanut butter fudge puddles. They’re baked in a mini muffin pan, then full of a wealthy chocolate cream. The key ingredient is mascarpone cheese, which retains the fudge-like chocolate filling tremendous gentle and creamy. Notice that these bake at 325°F (163°C) and never 350°F.

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Cookie Cups

Fudge Filling

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Directions

1. Make the cookie cups: In a big bowl utilizing a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium excessive velocity till mild and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat till mixed, about 1 minute. Scrape down the perimeters and backside of the bowl with a silicone spatula as wanted. Add the peanut butter and vanilla extract and beat till mixed.
2. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the moist elements and beat on low velocity till the dry elements are integrated, after which improve to medium velocity and beat till effectively mixed. The dough can be very creamy and gentle. Cowl and chill the cookie dough within the fridge for no less than 1 hour, and as much as 3 days.
3. Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Grease 2 mini muffin pans (or bake in batches you probably have just one pan) with nonstick spray. Put aside. 
4. Scoop and roll cookie dough, about 1 Tablespoon/20g of dough every. Place the dough balls within the ready pan. Together with your thumb, press down within the heart of every dough ball, to make an indent, and press the dough partway up the perimeters of the muffin cup. (Should you solely have 1 mini muffin pan, refrigerate the 2nd batch of dough balls till able to bake.)
5. Bake for 14–quarter-hour or till the perimeters seem flippantly browned. Don’t under-bake these. The cookie cups will puff up within the oven; that’s okay and anticipated.
6. Take away from the oven and place the mini muffin pan on a cooling rack. Let the cookie cups cool within the pan for simply 5–10 minutes. Throughout this time, use your thumb to make the indent deeper once more (cautious, they’re sizzling!), or use the again of a rounded teaspoon. After 5–10 minutes, fastidiously take away cookie cups from the pan. Use a butter knife to assist, if wanted. Place cookie cups on a cooling rack to chill utterly. 
7. Make the fudge filling: Soften the chopped chocolate and oil collectively in a double boiler or use the microwave. For the microwave, place the chocolate and oil in a big heat-proof bowl. Soften in 20-second increments, stirring after every increment till utterly melted and {smooth}. Let barely cool for 3 minutes. With a silicone spatula or a spoon, gently fold the mascarpone into the melted chocolate till mixed.
8. Spoon a heaping teaspoon of the filling into every cooled cookie cup. Prime with toffee bits or chopped peanuts, if utilizing.
9. Cowl and retailer at room temperature for as much as 1 day, or within the fridge for as much as 5 days.

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Notes

1. Make Forward & Freezing Directions: You can also make the cookie dough and chill it within the fridge for as much as 3 days. Baked cookies, with or with out filling, freeze effectively for as much as 3 months. Thaw within the fridge or at room temperature. Unbaked cookie dough freezes effectively for as much as 3 months. Learn my suggestions and tips on learn how to freeze cookie dough.
2. Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Glass Mixing Bowl | Electrical Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Rounded Measuring Spoons | Silicone Spatula | Mini Muffin Pan | Cooling Rack
3. Peanut Butter: Creamy peanut butter is good for this cookie dough as a result of crunchy peanut butter creates a very crumbly cookie. For this explicit recipe, it’s finest to make use of processed peanut butter equivalent to Jif or Skippy. Should you resolve to make use of pure peanut butter, be certain that it’s at room temperature, stirred effectively, and anticipate a barely crumblier cookie.
4. Can I Use Almond Butter, One other Nut Butter, or Sunflower Seed Butter? Sure, you should use almond butter or one other nut butter or sunflower seed butter on this cookie recipe; nonetheless, anticipate a crumblier cookie. I’ve not examined this recipe with Nutella and am not sure of the outcomes.
5. Chocolate: You may also use bittersweet chocolate if wanted. You want 2 customary bars of baking chocolate. I like Ghirardelli, Baker’s, and Guittard manufacturers, which I discover within the baking aisle of my grocery retailer, close to the chocolate chips. As a result of we’re melting the chocolate, keep away from utilizing chocolate chips, which comprise stabilizers that forestall them from absolutely melting.
6. What Can I Use As an alternative of Mascarpone? Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese. The place I stay, I can discover it within the grocery retailer close to the ricotta cheese, and this recipe conveniently makes use of 1 standard-size 8-ounce tub of mascarpone. I strongly encourage you to make use of mascarpone if you happen to can! The flavour and consistency is solely incomparable. Should you completely can not use it, you possibly can attempt changing it with one 8-ounce block of full fats cream cheese, although the chocolate may have a cream cheese taste. Or you can also make chocolate ganache. Watch for it to chill and thicken till spoonable consistency, about 2 hours.
7. Can I Make These In a Normal Muffin Pan? Sure, you possibly can bake these in a regular 12-cup muffin pan. I’d use 2 Tablespoons of dough per cookie cup. I’m not sure of the perfect bake time. Ought to make round 20 cookie cups.

Recipe from my pricey good friend Erin, who obtained it from an outdated problem of The Baltimore Solar