There are a lot of snacks I distinctly remember eating and loving growing up. Swiss cake rolls (I even made them into a swiss roll cake), Star Crunch, and Nutter Butters. There was just something about the crunch of the cookies and the peanut butter filling inside that made them so delicious. And while I still love all of those now, sometimes I just like things to be a little more homemade. These homemade nutter butters give you that same nostalgic flavor of the store-bought Nutter Butters but with so many flavor and taste that you may never go back. Plus, these ones are dipped in chocolate (if you want them to be) and sprinkled with a little sea salt to make these more of a gourmet treat perfect for that grown up part of you. Don’t get me wrong, kids love these too. They’re just good enough that adults will want to eat them too! Kind of like these gingerbread cupcakes – gourmet flavor that’s good for kids and adults! So grab that mixer and get to mixing. These nutter butters won’t bake themselves!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Nostalgic – when you want nutter butters but want something homemade, these fit the bill. They taste like grown up nutter butters and even have that yummy shape!Easy – with just a few ingredients that you already have at home, these are quick and easy to make!Gourmet flavor – you can either make these plain or dip them in chocolate and sprinkle with sea salt to give them more of a grown-up flavor profile, kind of like these salted caramel toffee cookies!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
Peanut butter – use your favorite creamy peanut butter, just make sure if it’s a natural kind (not recommended) that you stir it up really well so the oil is all mixed into the butter part. Maple syrup – real maple syrup is best but if you don’t have that you can substitute it with honey. Flaky sea salt – the flakes are the best because they give you that punch of salt without making the entire cookie salty. You can also eat these without the sea salt flakes, I just like the sweet and salty!Melting chocolate – my personal preference is the Ghirardelli chocolate melting wafers because they melt and harden so quickly but you could also use chocolate chips or even just regular chocolate bars. They may just need to sit a bit longer to harden. I like using milk chocolate on these but again, you can use your favorite!
How to Make Homemade Nutter Butters
These homemade nutter butters may look like a lot of steps but I promise you, all of those steps are super easy making for a super easy cookie! All you have to do is make the peanut butter cookies for the sandwich, the peanut butter filling, and then dip them in chocolate!
1 – Make the Cookies
Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper then spray with non-stick cooking spray. Cream together 1 cup peanut butter, sugar, and egg in a large mixing bowl. Roll dough into small balls that are about 1/2 teaspoon size. You can either do this by hand or scoop them out using a 1/2 tsp measuring spoon to help keep the balls even. Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper with two balls lined up right next to each other. Make sure that your pairs of peanut butter balls are at least an inch, if not two inches apart from each other so you have room to flatten them. Use the bottom of a glass, measuring cup, or something else flat to flatten balls to about 1/8″ thick. Flattening the two balls next to each other will give you that peanut looking shape. Dip a fork in flour and make one long fork mark from one end of the cookies to the other. Do this to all of the cookies on the baking sheet. Once you’ve done the long fork mark, press down with the fork perpendicular to the long fork mark on either end of the cookie. The cookies should look like this. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for nine to eleven minutes, removing from the oven when the cookies begin to turn more golden than they already are. Remove from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then move to a wire rack to cool. Once cooled, place in the freezer for ten minutes to help keep them from breaking in the next step.
2 – Make the Peanut Butter Filling
While they’re in the freezer, make your filling by mixing the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and maple syrup together. If you accidentally add a little too much maple syrup, you can add an extra TBS of powdered sugar to thicken the filling back up. Flip the cooled cookies over and spread filling onto one of the cookies. Find another cookie that’s about the same size, flip it over, and gently press it on top of the filling you just added to the first cookie. Be gentle as you press the cookies together so they don’t break (freezing the cookies before this step will also help!). Repeat with all of the pairs of cookies then put back in the freezer for another ten minutes to chill the cookies before dipping in chocolate.
3 – Finish the homemade nutter butters
While the cookies are in the freezer, melt chocolate in the microwave at 45 second increments until smooth. Or you could also do this using a double boiler on the stove, just make sure your chocolate is very smooth. Place the chocolate in a narrow cup or container and dip the frozen cookies into the chocolate to coat one half of the cookies. You can also drizzle the rest of the cookie with chocolate if you’d like, it definitely adds a nice touch! Place back on the parchment lined baking tray and immediately sprinkle the chocolate dipped end with some sea salt flakes (or don’t, totally up to you!). Finish dipping and sprinkling the homemade nutter butters until they’re all done. Wait until the chocolate hardens before enjoying your delicious creations!
Expert Tips
Make sure your peanut butter is at room temperature before you start to make these cookies or else it won’t mix properly. If you’re using natural peanut butter, make sure it’s both at room temperature and well mixed so the oils are all mixed in. Keep the balls small and tight together on the baking sheet so they don’t come apart and leave a gap while baking. This typically isn’t an issue since you’re smashing them together but just a reminder. Don’t skip the freezing parts of this recipe as it helps to keep the cookies together. If they’re still warm, they’ll sometimes break when filling the cookies. Sprinkle the flake sea salt on before the chocolate hardens. It won’t stick if the chocolate hardens. Store cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Make these gluten-free by simply skipping the dipping your fork in flour part. Dip it in powdered sugar to keep it from sticking to the peanut butter instead.
More Easy Peanut Butter Recipes
If you like peanut butter, you’ll love these other delicious peanut butter recipes!
Peanut butter snowballs – peanut butter, graham crackers, and powdered sugar get combined then dipped in white chocolate in these traditional holiday treats!Peanut butter pie – this creamy Reese’s peanut butter pie is a no-bake treat the entire family will love! Peanut butter blossoms – this is the best recipe for peanut butter blossoms I’ve ever tried. They’re light, fluffy, and delicious!S’mores Bars – s’mores get an upgrade with the addition of Reese’s peanut butter cups! Perfect for adding to a DIY s’mores bar at any party! Snickers cookies – peanut butter cookies get filled with a Snickers bar then topped with chocolate, so good!
