Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Cups, or more affectionately known as Fudge Puddles, are made with a peanut butter cookie dough base and a fudgy center made of chocolate chips and condensed milk. It’s an easy dessert for curbing those peanut butter chocolate cravings or for enjoying during the holiday season!
If you love peanut butter recipes, you’ll love Peanut Butter Balls, No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Table of Contents
- Why we love these fudge peanut butter cups:
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Cups Ingredients:
- How to make these easy Peanut Butter Cookie Cups:
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to store chocolate-filled peanut butter cups
- Can I freeze these fudge cups?
- Can I make the dough ahead of time?
- More peanut butter chocolate recipes you’ll love:
- Fudge Puddles Recipe
My Grandma’s Fudge Puddles hold a special place in my heart. They have that same nostalgic peanut butter flavor as my Peanut Butter Cookies, but with a fudgy chocolate center!
I make a homemade peanut butter cookie dough base with creamy peanut butter and a chocolate fudge layer that fills the center. These cups are super simple to make and perfect for parties, holidays, or any time in between!
Why we love these fudge peanut butter cups:
- Nostalgic: This is my grandma’s recipe, so you know it’s filled with love and memories of the good old days.
- Easy: The base for the cups is a basic peanut butter cookie dough, and the fudgy center contains only 2 ingredients, most of which you probably already have in your pantry!
- Freezer-friendly: I love making a huge batch of these and freezing them whenever I have a peanut butter chocolate craving!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Cups Ingredients:
You only need a few basic ingredients to make these delicious Fudge Puddles! Check out the recipe card for ingredient substitutions.
- Butter: I use room temperature unsalted butter to give the cookie cups flavor.
- Peanut butter: Make sure you use smooth peanut butter like Jif or Skippy and not natural peanut butter, as it doesn’t have the best texture for cookie dough.
- Sugars: I use a blend of white and brown sugar to provide the perfect balance of crispness and chewiness. You can use light or dark brown sugar, depending on how much flavor you want to add!
- Egg: This is the binder for the dough and helps the cookie stay together during baking.
- Flour: All-purpose flour creates a tender crumb for the cups and gives them a nice texture.
- Baking soda: This is a leavening agent that helps the dough rise when baked.
- Salt: Balances out the sweetness.
- Chocolate chips: I use semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can use milk chocolate or dark chocolate chips if you like!
- Condensed milk: When combined with the melty chocolate chips, it forms a thick fudge-like consistency that fills the center of the peanut butter cups.
How to make these easy Peanut Butter Cookie Cups:
My grandma’s Fudge Puddles couldn’t be easier to make! For detailed instructions, scroll down to the recipe card.
- Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars.
- Beat in the egg.
- Add flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Bake and indent the warm dough with a round object to make a well.
- Pipe the fudge mixture into each of the peanut butter cups.
- Chill before serving.
Variations and Substitutions
- If you’re making these for a holiday party, add some festive sprinkles on top!
- Instead of a chocolate filling, you can use peanut butter chips and make a peanut butter filling for those peanut butter lovers in your life!
- For a little crunch, add some crushed nuts on top, like chopped pecans, walnuts, or even pistachios!
How to store chocolate-filled peanut butter cups
Store the cups in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Can I freeze these fudge cups?
Yes! Once your cups have set and cooled, pop them into an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to eat them, let them sit at room temperature for up to 1 hour.
Can I make the dough ahead of time?
Absolutely! I suggest making the dough as instructed, portioning out a tablespoon of dough onto a baking sheet, and flash-freezing them. The cookie dough balls will last in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to bake, let the dough thaw completely in the fridge, add it to the mini muffin pan, and bake as directed.
More peanut butter chocolate recipes you’ll love:
- Peanut Butter Turtle Thumbprint Cookies — perfect for a holiday cookie exchange!
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies — one of our favorites for lunch boxes.
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Candies — love that sweet and salty crunch!
Fudge Puddles
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
Cookie cups
- ½ cup butter (room temperature)
- ½ cup smooth peanut butter (not natural)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar (lightly packed)
- 1 egg
- 1½ cups flour (all purpose or whole wheat)
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
Filling
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick spray (if using a non-stick pan, you can get away without spraying).
- With an electric mixer, cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars. Beat in egg until combined.
- Add flour, baking soda and salt and beat just until combined.
- Drop about 1 tablespoon of dough into mini muffin pans (or you can use regular pans and just make them twice as big!) — I get roughly 36.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes until the center is set and not gooey. Remove from the oven and use a small, round object to make an indent in the center while still warm (I used the back of a 1 tbsp cookie scoop, and it worked wonderfully!).
- Let cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from pan.
- In a medium saucepan, combine chocolate chips and condensed milk over medium-low heat and stir until melted and smooth (you can also do this on high in the microwave in 30 second intervals).
- Spoon the fudge mixture into the cookie cups or use a piping bag to fill. Chill for 30 minutes to set before serving.
- These store perfectly at room temperature for a couple days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Mary says
I’m trying to make shortcuts can I use refrigerator cookie dough? Also have someone here with a peanut allergy.. can I use a sugar cookie? Thanks!
Ashley Fehr says
Both should work fine, though I haven’t tried!
Danielle Morgan says
It’s sad to lose someone dear in your heart, but I’m very glad you have precious books to enjoy. That kind of thing can go a long way in the healing process. I have some of my memere’s cookware and it means the world to me when I use it. I’m looking forward to trying some of your recipes. Are you able to tell me the yield for this recipe? I typically need to make 72 pieces at a time and I’m guessing this might be two dozen? Any help would be much appreciated!
Ashley says
Sorry — I must have forgotten to include that! I believe I got 3-4 dozen. I would try doubling the recipe if you need 72.
Michelle Willms says
I have a couple of notebooks with my grandmother’s handwritten recipes inside. She also stuffed them full of newspaper clippings of recipes she wanted to try. These notebooks are my most precious possessions.I keep hoping I’ll find the time to type all of them into a cookbook someday, but I’ve only managed to get some of the handwritten ones done. Thank you so much for sharing something so precious with your followers. I’ll be trying this recipe quite soon – maybe even for the Christmas holidays. It sounds like something my husband and children will really enjoy.
Ashley says
Thanks Michelle! My grandma’s cookbook is definitely a treasure — I hope I can find the time to make something like it for my kids and grandkids someday!
Ginger Farnsworth says
I came across your recipe on Pinterest while looking for a new recipe to try for Christmas. I always read all of the comments that follow and wanted to jump in and add one. My father was the kitchen King at our house. When he passed on I got all of his cookbooks along with his saved clippings and handwritten notes. The thought came to me that rather than typing them over to share, I would scan them into my computer and organize them into a keepsake book to print through a service like Shutterfly (I think you can even do them through Walmart now). This was it can be shared with anyone in the family who would like one and the personal touch of my dad’s handwriting isn’t lost. I look at it like a cooking genealogy project. Just thought I’d share.
Ashley says
That’s so special! What a great idea 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Jess @ Flying on Jess Fuel says
LOL, when I saw the title of this post I was wondering what fudge puddles were going to be! Holy moly, they look delicious! I’d dive into a puddle of fudge any day 🙂
Ashley says
Haha, I’m with you on that one!
Annie @Maebells says
I have a hard time naming recipes too! I want to be straightforward, but not boring…it is harder than it sounds! I have actually never heard of fudge puddles, but these look so cute! I could eat a plateful!
Ashley says
I know, right? And there are so many times I want to put too many words in… and can’t figure out how to arrange them. Lol
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter says
Oh Ashley, I am sorry to hear about your grandmother 🙁 Losing a loved one is never easy and she sounded like such a special lady. So glad that you able to keep her memory alive through recipes she’s made. Love these fudge puddles, they look incredible!
Ashley says
Thanks Kelly!
Emily @ It Bakes Me Happy says
what a sweet memory of your grandmother, I have a few cookbooks my grandmother gave me before she passed away and I love having that small part of her in my kitchen. These cookies look divine!
Ashley says
Thanks Emily! They are pretty special 🙂
Kevin | keviniscooking says
Ashley, Your story about your Grandma and her cookbook struck home. After my mom’s passing my dad gave me all my mom’s recipes and cookbooks. I treasure them and miss her. My site was inspired by her actually. Love this recipe and the photos look delicious!
Ashley says
Thanks so much Kevin! Food is such an important part of family!
Mira says
I saw these on Pinterest and they are so cute and I’m sure delicious!
Sorry to heat about your loss, grandma’s recipes are always so good!
Ashley says
Thanks! They are totally delicious 🙂
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
So sorry to hear about your grandmother. Losing loved ones is so difficult. But I love that you can keep her memory alive by making recipes from her cookbooks! And seeing her notes written in there is such a special keepsake. These cookies sound delicious!
Ashley says
Thanks Natalie! I’ll definitely be adding my own notes along with them 🙂
Kathy @ Olives & Garlic says
I’m so sorry about your grandma Ashley. 🙁 It’s a rough time of the year to lose someone. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Ashley says
Thanks Kathy 🙂