Chocolate Peanut Butter Turtle Cookies

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Turtle Cookies — Soft and chewy peanut butter chocolate cookies with a Turtle in the middle and drizzled with salted caramel. So darn good!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Turtle Cookies

Between writing Peanut Butter Comfort and blogging for 5+ years, I’ve made a zillion peanut butter cookies. I’ve stuffed them with Rolos, Peanut Butter Cups, Reese’s Pieces and more, but never Turtles.

It was about time I paired the two.

These chocolate peanut butter pecan cookies cookies are soft, chewy, wonderfully thick, and have so many great flavors and textures in one. I used my Reese’s Pieces Cookies as my inspiration, and chocolate-ified the dough base.

Biting down through the chocolate-peanut butter cookie dough, and getting a taste of the Turtles with the crunchy pecans and gooey caramel, combined with the salted caramel drizzle is magical.

The batch makes only makes eleven (rather large) cookies, which I think is a blessing. Double the recipe if you need more.

With the holidays approaching, baking needs to be fast, fun, and easy, and these cookies deliver. But they taste like you slaved over them.

It’s guaranteed that people’s eyes will light up when they spot these on your holiday dessert platter.

Ingredients in Peanut Butter Chocolate Turtle Cookies

To make these chocolate peanut butter cookies with Turtles candies, you’ll need the following: 

• Egg
• Peanut Butter
• Butter
• Brown sugar
• Granulated sugar
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour
• Cocoa powder
• Instant espresso granules (optional) 
• Baking soda
• Salt
• 11 Turtles candies
• Salted caramel sauce (for drizzling) 

I used SKIPPY Roasted Honey Nut Creamy Peanut Butter or you can use SKIPPY Creamy Peanut Butter. I love to bake with honey roasted peanut butter for that extra layer of flavor and subtle sweetness.

If you want to make your own Homemade Turtles and Salted Caramel Sauce feel free, or use store-bought to save time like I did.

How to Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Turtle Cookies

These chocolate peanut butter caramel cookies come together quickly and easily. However, you’ll need to allow time for the dough to chill. 

Here’s an overview of the baking process: 

1. Combine the wet ingredients: To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the egg, peanut butter, butter, sugars, and vanilla.
2. Add the dry ingredients: Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cocoa powder, instant espresso granules, baking soda, and salt.
3. Scoop and chill: Using a large cookie scoop, form approximately 11 equal-sized mounds of dough, roll into balls, and flatten slightly. Place mounds on a large plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
4. Bake: Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with a Silpat. Place dough mounds on baking sheet and bake for about 9 to 10 minutes.
5. Add Turtles: After removing cookies from oven, carefully add 1 Turtle to the center of each cookie.
6. Cool and drizzle with caramel: Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before drizzling with caramel sauce and serving.

Do I Have to Add Instant Espresso Granules? 

No! However, the instant espresso doesn’t make the cookies taste like coffee, it simply serves to intensify and bring out the chocolate flavor. You may replace is with instant coffee granules, if desired, or omit entirely. 

Do NOT use regular ground espresso beans as they’ll make the cookies grainy in texture. You must add instant espresso. 

Does the Cookie Dough Have to Be Chilled?

Yes! Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.

Tips for Making Chocolate Turtle Cookies with Peanut Butter

• Use a traditional, no-stir peanut butter for this recipe. Natural peanut butter will make the cookies oily. 
• If you’re out of peanut butter or have an allergy in your family, you may substitute it with another no-stir nut or seed butter of your choice. 
• Note that you don’t have to bake all the cookies off at once. You can freeze some of the dough and bake it later, from frozen. Just add a minute or two to the total bake time! 

Save Saved Review Print

5 from 1 vote

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Turtle Cookies

By Averie Sunshine

Soft and chewy peanut butter chocolate cookies with a Turtle in the middle and drizzled with salted caramel. So darn good!

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Chill Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 11 l

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Ingredients 

• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ ¾ cup SKIPPY Creamy Peanut Butter or SKIPPY Roasted Honey Nut Creamy Peanut Butter
• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick
• ▢ ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
• ▢ ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ ⅓ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon instant espresso coffee granules, optional but recommended
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ pinch salt, optional and to taste
• ▢ about 11 Turtles (homemade or storebought; try Nestle Turtles, Hershey’s Pot of Gold Pecan Caramel Clusters, or Russell Stover Pecan Delights
• ▢ salted caramel sauce, for drizzling (homemade

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Instructions 

• To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer) combine the egg, peanut butter, butter, sugars, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined, about 4 minutes.
• Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cocoa powder, optional but recommended instant espresso granules (doesn’t make the cookies taste like coffee; serves to intensify and bring out the chocolate flavor), baking soda, optional salt, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
• Using a large cookie scoop, 1/4-cup measure, or your hands, form approximately 11 equal-sized mounds of dough, roll into balls, and flatten slightly. Even though cookies will spread in the oven, make sure dough mounds are wider than the Turtles; eyeball a Turtle prior to forming dough mounds to make sure.
• Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 5 days. Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.
• Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place dough mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet) and bake for about 9 to 10 minutes (for super soft cookies, longer for more well-done cookies), or until edges have set and tops are just set; don’t overbake which is easy to do with dark-colored cookies (I baked one batch for 11 minutes and after cooling they were too dry for my liking).
• After removing cookies from oven, carefully add 1 Turtle to the center of each cookie, pressing it down slightly so it adheres. As you press down, cookies will likely develop a few cracks around the perimeter, this is okay.
• Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet (I don’t use a rack) for about 10 minutes before drizzling with caramel sauce and serving.
• Adapted from Reese’s Pieces Soft Peanut Butter Cookies

Notes

Storage: Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 558kcal, Carbohydrates: 62g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 33g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g, Cholesterol: 49mg, Sodium: 231mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 44g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Post brought to you by Skippy. The recipe, text, images, and opinions expressed are my own.