MUDDY BUDDY COOKIES
You will love these muddy buddy cookies! A soft-baked, thick peanut butter cookie with crinkly edges, a smooth milk chocolate center, and dusted in powdered sugar. Everything you love about that addicting muddy buddy snack mix in a cookie.
These muddy buddy cookies have been my most popular recipe in December since posting them years ago. They're perfect for a Christmas treat plate or fun Holiday baking to do with your family or kids.
They may look complicated but besides the cooling time needed between each layer, these cookies really are simple to make. Read below for step-by-step instructions (with pictures) and helpful tips and hints to help you.
HOW TO MAKE MUDDY BUDDY COOKIES
Peanut Butter Cookies - Make a simple peanut butter cookie dough.
- Butter
- Creamy Peanut Butter
- Light Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar
- Large Egg
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda
Milk Chocolate Center
- Milk Chocolate Chips
- Canola Oil or Vegetable Oil - This helps the chocolate melt smooth & silky so it easily drops into the center of the cookie.
Powdered Sugar
- This is for dusting on top of the cookies. Muddy Buddies snack mix are typically covered in chocolate & peanut butter and then coated in powdered sugar. This part is important so don't skip it.
- I bough a cheap 'powdered sugar duster' tool on Amazon but you could also use a fine mesh sifter/strainer to sprinkle it over the cookies are just use clean hands to sprinkle it over.
TIPS & HELPFUL HINTS FOR MAKING THIS COOKIE RECIPE
- Do not use all-natural peanut butter. It will make these cookies, and any baked goods, really dry and crumbly. Use the real peanut butter with the oil and fat, and sugar! It's much better for cookie recipes. Most of the time when I get a comment from saying that the cookies were dry it's because all-natural peanut butter was used. So please use normal creamy peanut butter like Jif brand, Skippy, or Peter Pan brand.
- How do I sprinkle powdered sugar on the cookies? I found a very inexpensive powdered sugar sifter on Amazon (just search for it). You can also just use a spoon or your clean hand, and sprinkle it over tops the cookies. Or a fine mesh strainer will do the trick too.
- It may seem like an unnecessary thing but be sure you roll the dough into balls before placing them on the cookie sheet. You want those round edges because you have to press down on the cooked dough balls to get that nice, crinkly edges.
- Follow the directions exactly especially the cooling times. There is a reason you have to wait for the cookies to cool before adding the chocolate; if you add the melted chocolate onto a warm cookie it will just spill all over the cookie. Again, there is also a reason to wait and sprinkle the powdered sugar on until the chocolate is hardened. It's because if you try to sprinkle it on the warm, wet chocolate it will just melt and dissolve into the chocolate.
- Don't press down too hard when you press the cookies out of the oven. Depending on how thin or thick you want your cookies is how hard you should press down with the bottom of flat-bottomed glass or cup. For thicker cookies just barely press down until the edges start to crinkle. For a thinner cookie (which results in the chocolate being more spread out in the middle) press down slightly more.
- What do I use to press the cookies? You want to use a flat-bottomed glass or cup. If you don't have one with a flat bottom then use a measuring cup. That's what I do. I use a stainless steel 1/3 cup measuring cup to press the cookies.
- Put the cookies in the fridge to speed up the process of the chocolate hardening. If you leave the cookies at room temperature for the chocolate to harden then it will take about 2 hours. Put that cookie sheet into the fridge and the chocolate is hardened in about 15 minutes.
YOU WILL LOVE THESE OTHER FAMILY FAVORITE COOKIES TOO
Chocolate Reese's Cookies- Chocolate cookies with chopped Reese's peanut butter cups and peanut butter chips!
Perfect Sugar Cookies- They really are the best made with cream cheese which helps these sugar cookies hold their shape even while baking.
Reese's Stuffed Monster Cookies- The best monster cookies that are soft-baked and loaded with oats, chocolate chips, peanut butter, and m&m's and then stuffed with Reese's peanut butter cup in the middle.
No Egg Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies- No egg in these chocolate chip cookies so they're perfect if you have an egg allergy in your house. Even with no egg allergies in my house these are still our favorite version of the classic chocolate chip cookies. So soft and fluffy!
TRY THESE MUDDY BUDDY RECIPES

Muddy Buddy Cookies
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cookies
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter softened
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
Milk Chocolate Center
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- ½ teaspoon canola or vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining with parchment paper or spraying with cooking spray.
Make the Peanut Butter Cookies
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or use a handheld blender, blend together the butter, peanut butter, sugar, and brown sugar until creamy and light in color. About 1-2 minutes. Add in the egg and beat to combine.
- In a separate smaller bowl, add the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir with a wire whisk. Add to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until combined.
- Take about 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Place 12 dough balls onto the cookie sheet.
- Bake 8 minutes. * Cookies do not flatten at all while cooking
- Immediately after baking, take a small flat-bottomed cup (or bottom of a measuring cup) and gently press down on the cookie. This will flatten them as well as give those pretty crinkly edges.
- Let cookies cool completely on the cookie sheet. This takes about an hour.
Make the Milk Chocolate Center
- Melt chocolate chips and canola oil in microwave-safe bowl (I use a 2-cup glass measuring cup) for 2 minutes. Stirring every 30 seconds.* You may not need the full 2 minutes. My chocolate is melted and smooth at 1:30.
- Immediately use a spoon and place a small amount of chocolate onto the center of each cookie and spread it gently.
- Let chocolate set and cool completely (about 2 hours at room temperature OR place the cookie sheet in the fridge for 15 minutes) before dusting with powdered sugar. When you're ready to dust with powdered sugar use a powder sugared sifter (found on Amazon), a fine mesh strainer, or your clean hands.
- Store cookies at room temperature as the chocolate won't melt once it's hardened. If you prefer, these can be stored in the fridge but I prefer them at room temperature.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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