Chocolate Star Cookies are delicious peanut butter cookies that are soft and chewy on the inside with a little crisp on the outside. They are topped with a milk chocolate star that gets melty and gooey in the oven.
You can dunk these peanut butter cookies in milk, eat them as is or enjoy them with a hot cup of coffee. They are a great sweet treat or dessert, especially at the Holidays!
Chocolate Star
Traditionally we used Brach’s Chocolate Stars for these cookies. In recent years I have noticed the Brach’s brand is getting harder and harder to find. Not to worry though, you can find a store brand or similar brand in your grocery store!
However do not go to the baking aisle trying to find the chocolate stars with the chocolate chips. You will find them over in the candy aisle of your grocery store. Somewhere near the chocolate covered peanuts and gummy worms!
How to Make Chocolate Star Cookies
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, cream 1 stick of softened butter, ½ cup creamy peanut butter, ½ cup white sugar, ½ cup brown sugar together until it is fluffy and combined, this will take 2-3 minutes.
Add in 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and continue to mix for another 30 seconds.
In a separate bowl sift together 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon baking soda.
Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture, a little at a time, until it is completely combined. NOTE: make sure to not over mix the dough at this point or you will have tough little hockey puck cookies.
Place about ⅓ cup white sugar in a small bowl.
Roll the cookie dough into small balls, a little smaller than a golf ball (it will be a heaping tablespoon of dough). Roll the dough in the sugar and then place on a parchment paper or silpat lined baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes. Pull the cookies out of the oven and lightly press a chocolate star into the center of each cookie. Place back in the oven for 2 ½ minutes.
Let the peanut butter chocolate star cookies cool and it’s time for a cookie treat!!
Storing & Freezing
If you don’t eat all 24 cookies in one sitting, then you will need to store the cookies. You will need an airtight container with a lid. You can leave the cookies in the airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 5 days.
Storage tip: To help the cookies not dry out you can put a small, very lightly moistened paper towel in the corner of the container.
You can also freeze these cookies in a freezer safe container for up to 6 months. To enjoy, let them thaw at room temp for an hour or so.
More Delicious Cookies
If you need to make desserts or sweet treats for a crowd, especially at the holidays, here are a couple more that other Mom’s Dinner readers love:
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Did you make this recipe?
I would love to hear your review, especially if you have tips and tricks to add! Pop down to the comment section and connect with me
Chocolate Star Cookies Recipe + Video
Equipment
- Parchment paper (or reusable silpat)
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 24 milk chocolate stars - can be found in the candy aisle at your grocery store.
- ⅓ cup white sugar - for rolling the cookie dough
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or white a hand mixer, cream the butter, peanut butter, white sugar, and brown sugar, until they are fluffy and completely combined, this will take 2-3 minutes.½ cup butter, softened, ½ cup creamy peanut butter, ½ cup white sugar, ½ cup brown sugar
- Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- In a separate bowl or on a piece of parchment paper sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda.1 ¾ cups all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Add the flour mixture the the butter mixture a little at a time until it is fully combined. NOTE: do not over mix at this point, or you will have tough cookies!
- Roll the dough into balls a little smaller than the size of a golf ball, it will be 1 heaping tablespoon of dough per cookie.Pro Tip: A cookie dough scoop can make quick work of this job.
- Roll the dough balls in the sugar.Place on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.⅓ cup white sugar
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and press 1 star in the middle of each cookie. Place back in the oven for an additional 2 ½ minutes.24 milk chocolate stars
- Leave the cookies on the hot cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack.
STORING
- Store baked cookies at room temp in a covered container for up to 5 days.
- Freeze the baked cookies for up to 6 months. Thaw at room temp to enjoy!
Chandra says
These came out really good. For some reason the 2nd batch was a little crumbly when I tried to roll them but ended up just fine maybe a little more cracked. My husband said they taste just like the ones his mom used to make.
Connie Einspahr says
They turned out great, I had hershey kisses on hand. 🙂 they were perfect!
Partie says
Best peanut butter cookie I ever ate.
Jessica says
I’d like to make some dough a day or two before baking. For this recipe would you recommend refrigerating the dough in one mass or should I roll it into the balls before refrigerating? Will either approach impact quality? Thanks!
Susie Weinrich says
I would refrigerate it all together in one bowl. Then take it out and let it sit at room temp for about 30 minutes to take the chill off before rolling the balls and baking the cookies.
Jessica says
Wonderful! Thanks for the advice!
Susan Wedgewood says
I followed the instructions to a “t” and they turned out perfect! I highly recommend this recipe!
Amber Staupe says
I can’t wait to try this recipe!! I love these cookies, especially around Christmas and usually use my mom’s recipe but she moved many miles away so I don’t have access to it, so I am really excited to try this recipe this year and maybe even use it every year!!
Susie Weinrich says
Oh I love hearing things like this!! Thank you so much for sharing. I hope you love them!
Tammy says
bake them all the way done, take out and then put stars on ! why do you put them back in and bake longer???
Susie says
That way they bake a little to the cookie and they get nice and soft. Delish!
JoAnn Murtha says
These turned out great! Delicious!!
Emily Bruno says
Love these classic cookies!
Lauren Grant says
Ahhh these remind me SO much of my childhood! I LOVE that they’re both chewy and crisp!
Lauren Nagel says
Such a classic! I love the addition of the stars here, it makes them so pretty and festive!
Andrea Howe says
MY FAVORITE COOKIE!!! I love this recipe and can’t wait to make it on repeat for the holidays