Soft, gooey, irresistible homemade peanut butter cookies – baked in a muffin tin!
I’ve now decided that everything is better in a muffin tin.
Baking cookies in a muffin tin gives them an irresistible “deep dish” cookie texture you can’t get from a regular baking tray, and you can even double up on the dough if you want them to be even deeper and even more gooey and delicious.
Or press down in the centers for peanut butter cookie cups!
The idea for these muffin tin cookies came about due to pure laziness. I’d used my cookie tray for another recipe earlier in the day, and it was still sitting in the sink waiting to be washed. I knew I had two options if I wanted to make the peanut butter cookies I was suddenly craving: Stop and wash the cookie tray OR make the peanut butter cookies immediately and get creative with my choice of baking trays.
For the obvious reason that satisfying peanut butter cookie cravings shouldn’t be put on hold, I went with the second choice. I figured that baking the cookies in a muffin tin would still yield plain-old regular peanut butter cookies. But I couldn’t have been more wrong… and I am so happy I was.
When the cookies came out of the oven, they were thicker and softer than my usual peanut butter cookies, and thicker and softer cookies are always a good thing. I made two batches: one with chips and one without.
I’m sure you can guess which batch was my favorite!
Step One:
Make the dough and portion it into individual muffin tins.
Step Two:
Bake on the center rack at 350 F until soft.
Step Three:
Let cool, and devour your deep dish muffin tin peanut butter cookies, one by one!
Peanut Butter Cookies – In A Muffin Tin
Peanut Butter Cookies – Baked In A Muffin Tin!
Print This Recipe
[mrp_rating_result show_count="false" show_rich_snippets="false"]
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup peanut butter OR allergy-friendly sub
- 2 tbsp applesauce
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup unrefined sugar or xylitol
- 3 tbsp flour – spelt, oat, white, sorghum, or rice flour all work
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
*If desired, you can double the dough for deeper-dish cookies (and then press the middles in for cookie cups if you wish).
Grease or line a muffin tin. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bring peanut butter to room temperature if it isn’t already easily stir-able. Stir together first 3 ingredients. In a small dish, combine remaining ingredients, then stir all ingredients together to form a dough. If dough is too soft to form balls, freeze ten minutes or until it firms up. Using a cookie scoop, scoop balls into the prepared muffin tin. Gently press down. Bake 6 minutes – remove from the oven when still undercooked, and let sit ten additional minutes to firm up. Go around the sides with a knife to remove from the tin.
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Andrea says
Could almond flour be used?
Julie Dove says
You can definitely experiment! Let us know how it turns out if you do!
Jen E says
Just to let you know Katie when I printed this it printed 3 pages lol. The first one was just the title of the recipe, 2nd page with a FULL page of the cookies & the 3rd was the recipe 😉
Julie Dove says
It definitely shouldn’t do that! Did you print using the print button at the top-right of the recipe or print another way?
Meredith says
AMAZING! Katie, I have a deep love for your blog 🙂 Every recipe is delicious and definitely satisfies my chocolate craving!
Since I didn’t have any applesauce on hand,I used pumpkin purée instead. The batter was a little crumbly, but it was fixed with 10 extra minutes of sitting time. My whole family loved it! Thanks again.
Donna Baer says
Many of your recipes are wonderful and more healthy than average, but printing is quite an issue. When you click Print Recipe on this one for example, it gives you FOUR PAGES to print out a cookie recipe. Need to fine tune this option, please?
Julie Dove says
Hi, that should not be happening. Thank you so much for the heads up, and we are looking into it immediately. We might not get anyone who is able to fix it this week because of Christmas, but hopefully the developer can fix it quickly. It should only be printing the actual recipe, not any images or ads.
Debbie says
Hi, Are they supposed to be really soft when they come out of the oven? I made them in mini muffin tins. Thanks.
Autumn says
So good and so easy!
Ed Barnett says
I definitely want to try but I thought dogs could not have chocolate?
Ed Barnett says
oops…lol I was on the wrong site. I thought this was the doggy recipe site. Sorry!
Penny says
I made these this past weekend, and I love the deep dish cookie taste–genius! Thanks for the recipe!
Judy says
Can you use PB2 instead of real peanut butter?
Jason Sanford says
You can definitely experiment. Be sure to report back if you do try!
Andy S. says
Oh my gosh these look yummy!! I want to make these today, but I just used up the last of the apple sauce in the cinnamon roll baked oatmeal that’s currently baking in my oven :)….is there something else I could use as a substitute instead of applesauce?
Judy says
Can you substitute pb2 (rehydrated) for the peanut butter?
Jason Sanford says
Not sure it would work, but be sure to report back if you try!
Rachael says
Katie. I need to tell you that I made these cookies for my mom and mailed them to her for Mother’s Day last year and she is absolutely obsessed with them. Pretty much every time I talk to her, she mentions these cookies!
I have sent her the recipe and she has made a few batches, but claims that mine “taste better,” haha. She’s requested that I make them and send them to her for her birthday! So, thank you so much for coming up with this simple yet excellent recipe, which has blown my mom away and made me look really great because she’s always been the one to do wonderful things in the kitchen.
For the record, I absolutely love these cookies, too! And yes, they are best with chocolate chips. (I also use Jif creamy natural peanut butter and regular sugar and they do just fine!)
Jason Sanford says
So awesome to know they can be shipped!
Sarah says
Hi Katie, love your stuff!! Wondering if I omit the sugar if the cookies will still come out ok? Thanks in advance.
Victoria says
Hey Katie! This looks amazing! I was wondering if if I can replace the applesauce with banana purée. If so, is it the same amount? And also, can I make them without the muffin tin? Thank you so much!!
Jason Sanford says
You can, and same amount! You can also definitely make them not in a muffin tin. Just roll like regular cookies.
Angela Devis says
Do you always have to use Knife to get the cookies out of the muffin tin? I’m scared the cookies may break into pieces. Should I use an ice cream spoon instead?
Jason Sanford says
Hi! Just use these instead. Basically the same recipe 🙂 https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/12/11/secret-peanut-butter-cookies/
Lalit Sharma says
These are fantastically delicious! Next time I should make a double batch. There will be a next time for sure, maybe tomorrow 😉 😉
Lalit Sharma says
Both are incredible! So easy and so delicious! These are fantastically delicious! Next time I should make a double batch. There will be a next time for sure, maybe tomorrow 😉 😉
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for making them!