These buckeye cookies are a perfect make ahead holiday cookie. They have a soft, creamy, peanut butter cookie inside and a crunchy, milk chocolate cookie shell. A perfect dessert to treat your family and friends.
In a medium mixing bowl, add butter and peanut butter. Using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat until fully combined and creamy.
Add vanilla, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar to the peanut butter mixture. Beat until the sugars are incorporated.
Add in the flour and salt. Mix on low just until most of the flour is incorporated and then turn mixer to medium and beat until the flour is completely combined. The dough will be sticky. Set aside.
Chocolate Dough
In a microwave-safe bowl, add in the chocolate chips. Melt in the microwave in 30-second increments and stir after each increment until the chocolate is completely melted. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Add the butter to the melted chocolate. Beat with a hand mixer on medium until combined. If you have small lumps of butter, continue to beat until the mixture is smooth.
Add in the granulated sugar and light brown sugar. Beat until the sugar is incorporated.
Add in the egg and vanilla. Mix just until the egg is worked into the dough.
Add in the cocoa powder, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Beat on low just until most of the flour and cocoa powder is incorporated and then turn the mixer to medium. Beat just until the flour is worked in and a chocolate dough has formed. It will be sticky, but workable.
Assemble Buckeye Cookies
Place a piece of parchment paper on your counter. Scoop the chocolate dough out onto the parchment paper. Place a second piece of parchment paper on top of the dough. Roll the chocolates dough out into a 11x15 inch rectangle. You can trim the edges as you go and place it in spots that need to be more even.
Once the dough is rolled out into the rectangle, remove the top piece of parchment paper. Scoop the peanut butter dough out onto the chocolate dough stretching it the entire 15 inches. Form the peanut butter dough into a nice mound the entire length.
Starting from the 11 inch side, begin rolling the chocolate dough up around the peanut butter log using the parchment paper to move the dough. The log should be wrapped in the parchment paper at this point. Once the log is formed and the chocolate is completely wrapped around the peanut butter, roll the log back and fort
Once a log has formed, leave the parchment paper on it and roll the dough back and forth to smooth out the chocolate dough, to help remove any air bubbles in the peanut butter dough, and help attach the two doughs together.
Slide a cookie sheet under the dough log and place in the fridge to firm up, I recommend overnight. *see notes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Remove the dough from the fridge and unwrap it. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough in ¼ inch thick slices.
Place the slices of cookie on the prepared cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
Place in the preheated oven and bake for 14 to 15 minutes until the edges are set. You can check them by gently poking the edges of the cookie. They will hold its shape when the edges are set.
Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
You can speed up the process of chilling the dough by wrapping the parchment wrapped dough log in foil and placing it in the freezer for at least 2 ½ hours to 3 hours.