A classic homemade candy gets a fresh take in these Buckeye Brownie Cookies! This recipe is made easy with fudgy chocolate brownie mix cookies baked around rich peanut butter fudge centers.
It’s hardly a secret around here that I’m a little obsessed with chocolate and peanut butter. Name a better sweet-salty-creamy combination! Oh wait, you can’t.
Recently I had a craving of epic proportions for something chocolatey and delicious. So I did what any reasonable peanut butter and chocolate addict would do. Taking inspiration from my Buckeye Brownies, I doctored up a box brownie mix and finagled these sweet and chewy Buckeye Brownie Cookies!
These easy brownie cookies (“brookies”) are stuffed with a peanut butter ball and topped with chocolate frosting. They might look a bit unassuming at first glance. But on the inside, they’re pretty magical!
In case you’ve never had buckeyes before, they’re a classic no-bake treat made with balls of sugary peanut butter fudge dipped in chocolate (a bit like Peanut Butter Balls!). A circle of peanut butter is left uncovered, which makes buckeyes look a bit like the nuts from an Ohio buckeye tree, named after the eye of a deer!
So, Buckeye Cookies are the baked best of both worlds: a rich chocolatey cookie wrapped around a sugary peanut butter center! I top mine with a layer of chocolate frosting, too, since I can never pass up an opportunity for buttercream.
Recipe Ingredients
Less than 10 ingredients is all you need for these delicious buckeye brownie cookies!
- Brownie Mix: Your preferred boxed brownie mix. You can use any type of chocolate brownie you’d like!
- Butter: Salted or unsalted, and melted.
- Cream Cheese: Let your cream cheese come to room temperature before you start. It’s much easier to mix in this way!
- Peanut Butter: I recommend using a good quality, shelf-stable creamy peanut butter, and not the natural kind (more on this below).
- Egg
- Powdered Sugar
- Chocolate Frosting: I used my favorite recipe for homemade chocolate frosting, but you could also use canned frosting for convenience.
What Kind of Peanut Butter is Best?
For best results with these cookies, I suggest using your favorite brand of creamy or smooth peanut butter. Brands like Jif or Skippy are my go-tos. Avoid natural peanut butters as these tend to have more oil and don’t bake up well.
I’ve never made these cookies with crunchy peanut butter, but I’d imagine they just wouldn’t be the same without that fudgy smooth filling! So definitely stick to classic smooth peanut butter, if you can.
This cookie recipe is so easy to make. Here’s what you do:
Make the Brownie Dough: Mix up a box of brownie mix with the cream cheese, melted butter, and an egg. The texture will be sticky and thick – I actually used my hands to mix it together.
Roll the Dough: Form the brownie dough into balls and place these on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Use your thumb to make an indentation in the top of each dough ball.
Make the Peanut Butter Balls: Next, mix the peanut butter and powdered sugar. Roll the peanut butter mixture into small balls and press those into the indents in the brownie dough.
Bake: Bake the buckeye cookies in a 350ºF oven until the edges are set. These cookies don’t spread very much at all, so they’ll look about the same before and after baking.
Frost: Move the baked cookies to a wire rack. Once they’re cool, I like to spread some chocolate frosting on top and give them a sprinkle with flaked sea salt. Here’s my recipe for Easy Fudge Frosting!
Tips for Success
- Don’t Overbake: These cookies will look almost the same coming out of the oven as they did going in! So be mindful to not leave them in too long, even if they don’t seem especially done. Overbaking will lead to crunchy, crumbly cookies.
- If Your Peanut Butter Filling is Thin: If your peanut butter fudge filling seems a little on the thin and sticky side, add a bit more powdered sugar until you get the right consistency.
Storage Instructions
Keep these buckeye brownie cookies stored airtight on the counter for up to one week. You can also keep them in the fridge if you prefer, but I find the texture is just so much better at room temperature!
Do These Freeze Well?
The unfrosted cookies are a cinch to freeze. You can make a batch ahead and then store them in an airtight, freezer-safe container or freezer bag for up to two months. Thaw the frozen cookies on the countertop so that they can come to room temperature again, and then frost them as usual.
More Chocolate Peanut Butter Treats to Try
- Thick and Soft Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Balls
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Dessert Bars
- Peanut Butter Cup Crack Brownies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
A classic homemade candy gets a fresh take in these Buckeye Brownie Cookies! Easy chocolate brownie mix cookies are baked around rich peanut butter fudge centers.
Ingredients
- 1 box (18-19 oz) Brownie mix
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup chocolate frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl combine brownie mix, butter, cream cheese and egg. Stir until dough comes together, it will be very thick and sticky. I used my hands.
- Form rounded tablespoons sized portions of dough into balls, placing on baking sheet about 2 inches apart, making an indentation with your thumb in the center of each.
- In another bowl stir together peanut butter and powdered sugar. Form peanut butter into teaspoon sized balls and press into the indentations in the brownie cookies.
- Press peanut butter down slightly because the peanut butter won’t spread and you don’t want the cookies to be too tall.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are set.
- Transfer to wire rack to cool.
- When cooled top each cookie with about a tablespoon of chocolate frosting.
Notes
I used my recipe for chocolate frosting, but you could also use canned frosting.
Adapted from Pillsbury
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Not even close. I was so excited to try these as I have enjoyed many of your recipes. I followed the instructions to the letter and ended up with a brownie “batter”; certainly nothing I could roll. The peanut butter filling? Absolutely could roll, no problem. But I had to use a scooper to put brownie on the sheet.
I will say, regardless of their looks, they taste good.
Do you think you could put the chocolate brownie dough in a mini muffin tin and then put the peanut butter ball on top to bake?
yes! sure!
I have made these and they are delicious
I made these Buckeye brownie cookies last night and found I had the same problem as other commenters in that my brownie mix was very wet. After researching other recipes, I come to the conclusion that my country does not carry the right sized box of brownie mix for this recipe. We only have 15.5 oz boxes or 440 g and the recipe calls for a 19 oz box or family sized box. I will need to purchase the appropriate amount of brownie mix from my bulk food store. Then I am confident the recipe will turn out as shown. Otherwise, I managed although it was messy and my husband thought they were delish.
I’d love to try these, they look awsome
Made these twice, sooooo good. Now in with favorites.
I made recipe last night but mine didn’t turn out and chocolate colored. They were a bit lighter and almost looked a grayish chocolate. Is that affected by the Brownie mix I used? Is a fudgier boxed brownie better?
These suck. They are hard to make dont bake in the time stated and a waste of ingreients. I will never try them again.
Great cookies BUT I used a 19 oz mix and it was way too thin. I would add less butter and def do not melt completely! Next time I am going to try melting chips or a kiss on top instead of frosting, however they are good without it!
Could these be pressed into a pan and made into bars?