Peanut Butter Easter Cookies
You won't be able to just eat one of these decadent cookies. These peanut butter cookies are full of chopped Mini Cadbury Eggs and peanut butter morsels. A great addition to any Easter Brunch!
The base recipe I used for these cookies is one that goes back all the way to my childhood. My mom used to bake "Peanut Butter Jumbo Cookies" for our birthdays so we could take them to school to share with our friends and classmates. I still have that recipe, and I tweaked it here to use Cadbury Eggs instead of M&Ms, which are much smaller.
Everyone will love these cookies for the classic peanut butter and chocolate combo, and you'll love how quick and easy they are to whip together.
Want other dessert ideas for Easter? Try my Eggless Carrot Cake, Eggless Lemon Cake, or my easy No Bake Cheesecake.
Table of contents
Ingredients
Only nine ingredients are needed for these cookies. Butter (salted or unsalted), light brown sugar, granulated sugar, creamy peanut butter, an egg, flour, baking soda, mini Cadbury chocolate eggs (chop or crush them in a Ziplock bag, but not too much), and peanut butter morsels.
I recommend avoiding natural peanut butter because it will be too oily for the cookies, and they may spread too much.
The Equipment You'll Need
You don't need a lot to make this recipe, which means... Less dirty dishes! You'll need the following...
- Large mixing bowl
- Electric mixer
- Silicone spatula
- Medium cookie scoop (1.5 tablespoons)
- Parchment paper
- 2 Large cookie sheets - Light colored cookies sheets work best to keep the bottoms of the cookies from getting too dark.
How to Make Peanut Butter Easter Cookies
Preheat oven to 350°F, and line two large cookies sheets with parchment paper. Add the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and sugar to a large bowl, and mix until combined. Then mix in the egg.
Mix in the flour and baking soda.
Fold in the chopped Cadbury chocolate eggs (reserve about ¼ cup of the larger pieces to press into the top of the dough balls) and peanut butter morsels. The cookie dough will be thick but not too dry. And it shouldn't be sticky.
Use a cookie scoop to drop level scoops of dough onto the parchment-lined cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Then, press some large pieces of the mini-eggs and some extra peanut butter morsels.
Bake for 15 minutes or until they have spread to about 2 inches and are browning around the edges.
Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheets for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely or serve warm.
Notes on Ingredients
A few things to note about the ingredients...
- You can use salted or unsalted butter these cookies.
- Make sure you are not using natural creamy peanut butter. It usually contains too much oil and will make the cookies spread too much.
- Can't find Mini-Cadbury Chocolate Eggs? You can use Easter M&Ms instead! They usually come in pastel colors, so they will just as well.
- No peanut butter morsels? No problem! You can omit them or substitute them with milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Storage Instructions
These cookies can be stored on the counter in an airtight container, such as a Ziplock bag or Tupperware, for up to 3 days. After that, they may start to taste stale or like their container.
Alternatively, you can store these in the refrigerator for up to one week, or freeze in a gallon-sized Ziplock bag for up to 3 months. Just make sure to thaw them out in the fridge overnight before serving.
Can I freeze the dough and bake the cookies later?
Absolutely! Store the dough balls in a gallon-size Ziplock bag for up to 3 months. Bake them from frozen at 350°F for 15-20 minutes, or thaw them in the fridge before baking for 15 -18 minutes.
What if I want to make these when Cadbury eggs aren't in season?
You can use whatever chocolate candies are in season, or just use regular M&Ms. That's how my mom always made them!
Peanut Butter Easter Cookies
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Electric mixer
- 1 Medium cookie scoop 1 ½ tablespoons
- 2 Large cookie sheets Light colored aluminum, half-sized is best
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter softened
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup peanut butter morsels
- 1 cup chopped Mini Cadbury Chocolate Eggs or other chocolate candies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F, and line two large cookies sheets with parchment paper.
- Add the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and sugar to a large bowl, and mix until combined. Then mix in the egg.
- Mix in the flour and baking soda.
- Fold in the chopped Cadbury chocolate eggs (reserve about ¼ cup of the larger pieces to press into the top of the dough balls) and peanut butter morsels. The cookie dough will be thick but not too dry. And it shouldn't be sticky.
- Use a cookie scoop to drop level scoops of dough onto the parchment-lined cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Then, press some large pieces of the mini-eggs and some extra peanut butter morsels.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until they have spread to about 2 inches and are browning around the edges.
- Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheets for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely or serve warm.
Notes
- Crush the Mini Cadbury Chocolate Eggs in a large Ziplock bag or chop them roughly. Make sure to keep the pieces pretty large.
- Light metal pans are best to keep the bottoms of the cookies from getting too dark.
- Using a small or larger cookie scoop will give you a different amount of cookies.
