Buckeye Thumbprint Cookies Recipe

Buckeye Thumbprint Cookies Recipe, the best thumbprint cookie recipe ever with chocolate and peanut butter and an easy chocolate drizzle from the cookbook, Easy Homemade Cookie Cookbook by Miranda Couse.

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Oh boy, stop what you’re doing and check out these Buckeye Thumbprint Cookies! These easy buckeye cookies are full of chocolate and peanut butter and a chocolate drizzle on top. I love chocolate and peanut butter together like in my Mini Buckeye Cheesecakes and Chunky Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownies. Just can’t get enough of that combo and these cookies are no exception!

What is a Buckeye?

I know some of you are wondering what a buckeye is, so let’s talk about that first before I talk about this delicious buckeye cookies. “Buckeye” can actually can refer to a variety of things such as…

1. A tree
2. Nickname for Ohio State (boo! I’m a Michigan Wolverine. #SorryNotSorry)
3. A peanut butter candy coated in chocolate

There’s actually a long list of other Buckeyes but let’s just stick to the chocolate and peanut butter variety!

So excited to bring you this buckeye cookie recipe from my friend Miranda’s NEW cookbook, Easy Homemade Cookie Cookbook (<—-Check it out on Amazon).

The cookbook has 150+ cookie recipes including traditional and classic cookies, and twists on cookies, brownies, bars and even no-bake cookies!

These chocolate and peanut butter Buckeye Thumbprints are fabulous and going on my Christmas cookie list.

Besides this incredible Buckeye Thumbprint cookie recipe, other recipes in Easy Homemade Cookie Cookbook include Chocolate Whoopie Pies (top picture), Chocolate Dipped Macaroons (bottom left), Lemony Lemon Bars (bottom right), and much more.

If you like cookies, want some fun cookies for Christmas, or just like to eat cookies, this book is for you.

Although these Buckeye Cookies look complicated, they actually came together WAY faster than they look.

First, start by making the peanut butter filling. Mix together the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla together in a small bowl.

Next, whisk together the dry ingredients, flour, unsweetened chocolate powder, and salt.

Then, beat together the butter and granulated sugar in a separate bowl until creamy, then beat in the egg yolk and vanilla. Beat in the dry ingredients until the cookie dough comes together. It may take a little while for the dough to come together, but it did!

The dough tasted almost like a brownie to me, so I may or may not have eaten WAY too much of the cookie dough. I’m not telling…

Scoop the cookie dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. A medium sized scoop works great for this and helps the cookies all come out the size and round. Leave a little room (about 2 inches) between cookies as they do spread a little while baking.

Flatten the top of the cookie. I just used my hand. With the back of a wooden spoon, measuring spoon, or even just your thumb, make a small indentation in the middle of each buckeye cookie.

Get about a teaspoon of the peanut butter filling, roll it into a ball, then press into the indentation in the cookie.

Bake the cookies for about 15-16 minutes. You’ll know the cookies are done when they are firm around the edges.

Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the pan, then place the buckeye cookies on wire racks to finish cooling completely.

When the cookies are completely cool, melt the semisweet chocolate in the microwave or double boiler. The microwave is so easy though, so I’d go that route!

When the chocolate is melted, spoon the chocolate into a small resealable bag, clip one corner of the bag, and drizzle the chocolate over the cookies.

I’d suggest putting some wax paper or parchment paper underneath before drizzling the chocolate for easy cleanup.

My kids LOVED drizzling the chocolate! Instead of a plastic bag, you could also use a squeeze bottle.

Let the cookies sit until the chocolate sets before serving. I stuck the cookies in the refrigerator for a few minutes for the chocolate to set quicker because I was not very patient that day and wanted to eat the cookies. haha!

If you like chocolate and peanut butter, then I suggest, you stop whatever you are doing right this second, and make these cookies!

I don’t even want to tell you how many of these buckeye cookies I ate the day I made them….

Let’s just say it was more than one, and less than 100, ok?

Ok, great…

Hope you enjoy these Buckeye Thumbprint Cookies as much as my family did!

Oh, who am I kidding, I really didn’t share these buckeye cookies with them because they were too good to share.

Be sure to also check out Miranda’s book Easy Homemade Cookie Cookbook for many more delicious cookies!

5 from 3 votes

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Buckeye Thumbprint Cookies

Buckeye Thumbprint Cookies, an easy chocolate and peanut butter cookie recipe! 

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 16 minutes

Total Time 41 minutes

Yield 28 cookies

Ingredients

Peanut Butter Filling:

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cookies:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 ounces semisweet baking chocolate, chopped

Instructions

1. Make the filling. In a small bowl, beat together the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla with a spoon or electric mixer until smooth. Set aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet(s) with parchment paper.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.

4. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and granulated sugar for a few minutes until light and creamy. Beat in the egg yolk and 1 teaspoon vanilla until well combined. Beat in the dry ingredients, until incorporated. 

5. Drop the cookie dough (about 1 1/2 tablespoons per cookie) onto the prepared baking sheet(s) leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Flatten the top of each cookie slightly, then using the back of a wood spoon or measuring spoon (or your thumb), make an indentation in the center of each cookie.

6. Scoop out about 1 teaspoon of the peanut butter filling, roll into a ball, and press into the center of each cookie. Repeat with the remaining filling and cookies.

7. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F for about 15-16 minutes or until edges are firm.

8. Let cookies cool on pans for about 5 minutes, then remove and place on wire racks to cool completely.

9. When the cookies the cookies have cooled completely, place the chopped semisweet chocolate in a small microwave safe bowl and heat on 50% power for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval until the chocolate is melted and smooth.

10. Spoon the melted chocolate into a small resealable plastic bag. Cut off the tip of one corner of the bag. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookies. Let the chocolate cool and set before serving.

Recipe Notes

SNAPPY TIPS: A medium sized cookie scoop works great for getting the same size for each cookie and for getting a nice round shape for these buckeye cookies.

SNAPPY SUBSTITUTIONS: Instead of creamy peanut butter, you could use crunchy. 

 

Looking for more chocolate and peanut butter recipes? How about a cocktail? Check out this Chocolate and Peanut Butter Martini (Hungry Couple). And for the kids, how about a few Halloween treats like these Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Ball Spiders (Eating Richly) and Dracula Cupcakes (Hungry Happenings). So cute!