The Cookie Combo That Can’t Be Beat

Peanut butter cookies are pretty good on their own. Dip them in chocolate? A-MAZING! Chocolate whoopie pies with cream filling? Delish! Fill them with peanut butter? NOW we’re talking! Something about adding chocolate to peanut butter (or peanut butter to chocolate!) takes simple cookies over-the-top. These three recipes provide delicious proof of how the time-honored combo transforms simple cookie recipes into something magical.

Chocolate Pretzel Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

The addition of salty pretzels to the magic mix in this modern rendition of shortbread is a study in perfect contrast—uniting flavors that are both incredibly different and uniquely complementary. To crush the pretzels, put them in a lock top plastic bag, seal it, and gently roll over the pretzels with a rolling pin to break them up.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Peanut Butter Filling

A retro treat, whoopie pies feature cakey chocolate cookies sandwiching a creamy filling. For this update on the classic version from veteran cookbook author, Kim Laidlaw, a whipped peanut butter filling stands-in for the traditional marshmallow creme.

Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies

Thanks to a genius idea from author, photographer and blogger Joy Wilson, better known as Joy the Baker, the much-loved peanut butter cookie has been elevated to the extraordinary: she dips half the cookie into melted dark chocolate, then adds a sprinkling of chopped peanuts and sea salt. The cooks in our Test Kitchen went wild for these sweet-salty treats when they first sampled them years ago and they remain one of our favorite classic cookie updates today.