Peanut Butter Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
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The classic combination of peanut butter and chocolate shines in these delicious Peanut Butter Chocolate Shortbread Cookies. Although I’m serving these on my holiday cookie tray, they would be delicious at any time of the year.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Shortbread Cookies:
Ok, I’m doing it again. – I’m mixing peanut butter with chocolate to create another delicious treat! You know this combination is a weakness of mine. Since I also love a shortbread style cookie, I couldn’t say no to these Peanut Butter Chocolate Shortbread Cookies.
If you’re a fan of peanut butter treats, IBC is the place for you. I have an entire blog post dedicated to them. You can find that roundup of all my favorite peanut butter-inspired recipes here.
Want more cookie recipes? I’ve got you covered there too:
The concept behind these cookies is pretty straightforward. A chocolate shortbread cookie is topped with peanut butter or chocolate icing. That is drizzled with even more peanut butter and chocolate.
In my perfect world, I would have made all of these chocolate cookies with peanut butter icing. However, I know there are lots of chocolate-only fans out there, so I wanted to provide a couple of options.
Let’s get baking!
How to Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Shortbread Cookies:
Start by making the shortbread dough.
In case you’re new to cookie baking, I need to tell you that shortbread isn’t the easiest cookie dough to work with. You might want to start with another type of dough. I do have confidence in you, but be warned that shortbread wants to break and crack. It’s a bit more fragile than most doughs.
I like to mix shortbread dough by hand, but you could do this in a food processor. (The full ingredient list and instructions are listed in the printable recipe card below.)
Once the dough is made, roll it out on a floured surface. You can use whatever cookie cutter you’d like to cut out your cookies. I recently found this fluted round cookie cutter on one of my antiquing adventures, so that’s what I used!
After the cookies are baked and have time to cool, they are ready to be frosted.
The icings are made from melted chocolate chips and melted peanut butter chips. A little vegetable shortening is added to each to keep the icing soft.
Half of the cookies get frosted with the chocolate icing, and half get frosted with the peanut butter. The leftover icing is drizzled on the cookies for a decorative touch. (Before you start this step, set the cookies on wax paper to make clean-up easy.)
Allow the icing to set, and you’re ready to enjoy these tasty Peanut Butter Chocolate Shortbread Cookies!
If you love peanut butter and chocolate and buttery soft cookies, you’re going to adore this sweet treat.
Enjoy your baking!
Want more Peanut Butter Chocolate Treats? Try these:
- Peanut Butter Brownie Pillow Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
- Mini Peanut Butter Pie with Chocolate Crust
- Peanut Butter Cup Rice Krispies
- Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut Butter Chocolate Shortbread Cookie Recipe:
Peanut Butter Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup butter cubed
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Icing:
- 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon shortening divided
Instructions
- Begin by preheating your oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Next, add the butter, peanut butter, and vanilla. Use a pastry blender to incorporate the ingredients. Once the dough starts to come together, form the mixture into a ball with your hands and knead until smooth*.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough until it is about 1/3- inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out cookies in the desired shape. Place the cutouts about 1/2-inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the centers are set. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheets for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- To create the icing, start with a small microwave-safe bowl. Add the chocolate chips and half (1 1/2 teaspoons) of the shortening. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between until the chips are melted and the shortening is blended in.
- In another small microwave-safe bowl, add the peanut butter chips and the other half (1 1/2 teaspoons) of the shortening. Microwave in 30-second intervals, again stirring to ensure that the icing is smooth and the ingredients are blended.
- Place the cooling rack of cookies on a piece of wax paper. Then spread half of the cooled cookies with the melted chocolate mixture and the other half with the melted peanut butter chip mixture. Then, drizzle all the cookies with the leftover icing.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container. (They can be frozen for up to three months.)
- *If you prefer, this process can be done in a food processor. Mix the dry ingredients first; then add the others. Pulse until the mixture starts to come together.
Nutrition
*Recipe adapted from Better Homes & Gardens
OMG! When my husband eats 2 cookies, I know its a winner. But after making them once, I would have to learn a lighter drizzle technique. But my friends loved them, with all my mis-technique….another winner! Thank you
Oooh these are being added to my Chrostmas cookie list for sure! Can the dough be made ahead and frozen until ready to bake or is it better to just make the cookies and then freeze them?
Can’t wait to try these!!