Chocolate Star Cookies are a classic treat that many people enjoy, especially during the holiday season. These yummy cookies combine the rich flavors of peanut butter and chocolate, creating a classic and favorite cookie no matter the time of year.

A key feature of Chocolate Star Cookies is a milk chocolate star candy that is nestled into the center of the soft and chewy peanut butter cookie. Making these cookies is relatively simple, with easy-to-follow recipes that yield great results. These cookies are easy to make with kids and they love topping the cookies off with the milk chocolate candies.  

This was inspired by my Peanut Butter Cup Cookies on this site. Both of these cookies are perfect for peanut butter lovers.

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• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top tip
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• 📖 Recipe

Ingredients

Ingredients

When making Chocolate Star Cookies, it is important to gather all the necessary ingredients before beginning the baking process. Here are some of the key ingredients you will need to make this classic recipe:

• Peanut Butter: Choose a creamy peanut butter to achieve a soft, chewy texture in your cookies. It’s not necessary but a new container of peanut butter produces the creamiest and most flavorful results.
• Sugar: A mix of granulated sugar and brown sugar is used for the cookie dough. The granulated sugar creates crisp edges and the brown sugar creates a chewy flavorful texture.
• Flour: All-purpose flour is the go-to for this baking recipe. However, you can replace half of it with white whole wheat flour as suggested by WellPlated, without altering the taste.
• Butter: This recipe calls for unsalted butter and it’s best to use it to create this recipe when it is at room temperature.
• Eggs: Use room-temperature eggs for this recipe. This will ensure the ingredients cream together better.
• Chocolate: Brach’s Milk Chocolate Stars are the chocolates I use in this recipe and the candies make these cookies especially fun for the holidays. The traditional choice for peanut butter blossoms is Hershey’s Kisses so you can use those in place of the stars if you can’t get your hands on the stars! You can also experiment with other types of chocolate or use peanut butter cups for a different twist.
• Baking Soda: This essential ingredient will help your cookies rise and spread and create that classic peanut butter cookie texture.
• Vanilla Extract: Adding a touch of vanilla extract to your dough can enhance the overall flavor and sweetness of your cookies.
• Milk: Milk is used in this recipe to prevent the cookies from having a crumbly texture.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

The first step is to preheat the oven to 350ºF and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

To start making Chocolate Star Cookies, ensure all your ingredients are at room temperature for quicker and better mixing.

First, in a large bowl or using an electric mixer or with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the softened butter and both the granulated sugar and brown sugar. Mix the ingredients together until it has a light and fluffy texture.

Next, incorporate the creamy peanut butter into the sugar and butter mixture. If doing this by hand, it may time some time to blend the ingredients well.  An electric mixer will be much quicker and less work. Then, add the egg and vanilla extract to the mixture, continuing to mix until it's well combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add these dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing between each addition. The cookie dough will be a bit crumbly, and this is where the milk is added to smooth out the cookie dough.

Once the peanut butter cookie dough is made, it’s time to roll the dough into 1-inch balls. Once the balls are made, roll them around in a shallow dish with granulated sugar and coat well.

Place the dough balls onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving two inches of space between each cookie dough ball.

Bake your peanut butter cookies for 9-11 minutes or until they are lightly golden around the edges.

As soon as the cookies are removed from the oven, gently press a chocolate star into the center of each one. It’s important to lightly press the chocolate into the center because the chocolate will heat up quickly and will begin to melt if disturbed too much.

Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.  Handle these cookies with care and allow the chocolates to harden completely before stacking in an airtight container.

Substitutions

These cookies can be made to be nut free or gluten free!

• Peanut butter - instead of peanut butter, these cookies can be made with WowButter or another peanut butter alternative.
• Flour - use gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour instead of all-purpose flour
• Chocolate - swap out the chocolate stars for another type of chocolate shape or flavor depending on your dietary needs.

Even if your reader doesn't follow a specific diet (eg. gluten free), they may have friends or family that they're cooking for that could use this. This is also a great idea to link out to another blogger with a similar recipe that fits a different diet.

Equipment

To make these cookies easier and quicker, this equipment list is great for cookie-baking success.

Hand mixer – an electric hand mixer will help cream the peanut butter easily into the cookie dough and is quicker when combining ingredients together.

Mixing bowls – One bowl of wet ingredients and one bowl of dry ingredients are a must-have when baking cookies. I like bowls that have a nonslip grip on the bottom so that when using the hand mixer the bowl doesn’t scoot around.

Cookie Sheets – I prefer light cookie sheets as opposed to dark baking sheets because the bottoms of the cookies don’t brown as quickly.

Parchment Paper – Parchment paper is a great tool to use on cookie sheets because it prevents the dough from sticking to the cookie sheets, makings cleaning up easier, and helps the cookies brown more evenly.

Storage

When it comes to storing Chocolate Star Cookies, it’s easy to do but they need to be stored carefully so that the chocolate stars stay intact. To maintain their freshness and prevent them from becoming stale, keep the cookies in an airtight container. This will ensure that they stay moist and retain their original flavor. These cookies stay good on the countertop for up to 5 days.

Freezing Baked Cookies

Freezing these Chocolate Star Cookies is easy to do when making these cookies ahead of time. They store in the freezer for up to 3 months and  This is particularly useful if you're preparing a large batch of Christmas cookies ahead of time. To freeze your cookies, follow these simple steps:

Freezing Cookie Dough

The peanut butter cookie dough can also be frozen in order to be baked at a late date. The raw cookie dough will last up to 3 months in the freezer when stored properly.

Step 1: Make the cookie dough according to the recipe and shape the cookie dough into 1 inch balls as the recipe states. Roll the cookie dough balls into the granulated sugar.

Step 2: Place the cookie dough balls inside a freezer-safe bag in one layer with parchment paper or wax paper in between each layer. Store the bag inside a freezer-safe container.

When ready to bake the frozen Chocolate Star Cookies, take the cookie dough balls out of the freezer and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Bake according to the recipe's directions and enjoy!

Related

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