Peanut Butter Butterfinger Cookies

Take a classic peanut butter cookie, fold in five chopped Butterfinger bars, and you get a cookie that tastes like a peanut butter cup met a Halloween candy bag and decided to settle down together. The candy melts at the edges into pools of caramelized sugar and stays crunchy in the centers.

Chunky peanut butter is the right call here. The added peanut bits in the dough add their own crunch, separate from the candy bar pieces, so each bite has two textures of crunch plus the cookie’s tender center. Smooth peanut butter works but you lose that layered bite.

Egg whites only (no yolks) keeps the cookie pale and crisp at the edges instead of dark and chewy. The result feels lighter than typical PB cookies even though the candy bar load makes them rich.

Pull at the just-set stage. The Butterfinger pieces will keep softening from residual heat, and overbaked cookies turn the candy hard and brittle instead of pleasantly chewy-crunchy.

The 3-minute pan rest is essential. These cookies are too soft to move straight from the oven without breaking.

Pro Tips

• Chop the Butterfingers in advance and freeze for 10 minutes before mixing in. Cold candy holds shape better in the dough.
• Don’t overbeat after adding the flour. Overworked dough turns these tough instead of tender.
• Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack for even browning. Two-rack baking gives you uneven cookies.
• Press the tops gently with a fork after flattening for that classic peanut butter cookie crosshatch look (and to expose more candy bits).

Variations

• Swap Butterfingers for chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for double peanut butter intensity.
• Use chopped Snickers or Twix for a chocolate-caramel twist.
• Add a half cup of chocolate chips alongside the candy bar pieces for triple-candy cookies.