Peanut Butter Pinwheel Cookies: Love in Every Chocolate Swirl

Sneak Preview: These Chocolate Peanut Butter Pinwheel Cookies combine peanut butter dough with a layer of melted chocolate chips. Bake and enjoy serving these to family and friends you love.

chocolate peanut butter pinwheel cookies on a platePin

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Do you have a recipe that has stared at you for years? Maybe it’s in your tattered recipe collection, on the cover of one of your favorite cookbooks, or, in my case, on a calendar that featured recipes.

Finally, it was time to make the cookies or throw away the old calendar. I was elated when they turned out tasty and pretty enough for a cookie tray.

Three Reasons Why You Will Enjoy This Recipe

  1. These cookies taste like chocolate chip cookies with peanut butter in them. They speak directly to my frequent craving for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
  2. They are an interesting shape. Nobody will believe you made them yourself.
  3. You can keep the dough in the fridge for several days if necessary.

Get started by mixing the dough per the recipe. Turn it out onto waxed paper and follow the pictures below.

Happy Bakers Speak Up

“Yes, I have made this recipe for chocolate pinwheel cookies for years and they are wonderful. At first I had a hard time rolling them out but practice makes perfect. I do make them often.” GINNY

Recipe Tips

  1. Rolling up the dough with chocolate inside can be a little tricky. If the ambient temperature in your kitchen is rather warm, the dough can be messy. If necessary, chill the dough for a few minutes before you start to make it easier to handle.
  2. After you spread the chocolate and roll up the dough, chill for 30-45 minutes. In my experience, this is when the dough will be the easiest to handle.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pinwheel CookiesPin

3. If you chill until the dough is completely firm, the chocolate will be difficult to slice without cracking unevenly. Experience will help you decide when the dough is ready to slice.

4. Use a serrated knife to slice the dough for cookies. It moves through the chilled chocolate more easily. Even better, use a warm, sharp, serrated knife.

Even if the cookies don’t slice perfectly, they taste delicious.


How To Roll Out Peanut Butter Pinwheel Cookies

mixed cookie dough transferred to a sheet of wax paper.Pin
Place cookie dough onto a large sheet of wax paper.
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Cover with another sheet of waxed paper.
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Use a rolling pin to roll dough into a 10 x 17-inch rectangle.
pouring chocolate layer on cookie doughPin
Pour melted and slightly cooled chocolate onto the dough.
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Spread chocolate evenly.
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Roll up dough to form a log. Chill for 30-45 minutes.
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Cut the log into 1/2-inch slices and place the cookies onto a prepared cookie sheet.

Parting Thoughts: If you are a peanut butter lover and need more, check out the recipes for my Glazed Peanut Butter Cookie Bars, my daughter-in-law’s Peanut Butter Fudge, and the popular PB2 Recipe for Peanut Butter Greek Yogurt. If you have leftover cookies, make cookie truffles with them; they might be even better than the original cookies.


Help at Your Fingertips: For questions or suggestions, email Paula at saladinajar.com. If you need help, I’m happy to troubleshoot via email (faster than leaving a comment). Attach pictures and as many details as possible for the best advice.

Peanut Butter Pinwheel Cookies on a dish in from of a Scrabble tray of letters.Pin
Yield: 36 cookies

Peanut Butter Pinwheel Cookies

This Peanut Butter Pinwheel Cookie recipe combines peanut butter dough with a layer of melted chocolate. Roll the dough into a jellyroll shape before slicing.
5 from 26 votes
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Video

Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 14 minutes
Additional Time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 59 minutes

Ingredients
 

  • ½ cup (113 g) butter softened
  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (129 g) chunky peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large (50 g) egg
  • 1-3/4 cup (210 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon table or sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 6-ounce package (170 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Beat 1/2 cup (113 g) butter and 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in 1/2 cup (129 g) chunky peanut butter, 2 tablespoons milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 large (50 g) egg.
  • Stir in the 1-3/4 cup (210 g) unbleached all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon table or sea salt, and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
  • Melt 1 6-ounce package (170 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips in a separate bowl by microwaving for one minute on HIGH. Set aside to cool.
  • Press dough into a ball and place between two long sheets of waxed paper. Roll out into a 10 x 17-inch rectangle.
  • Remove the top piece of waxed paper and spread the cooled chocolate over the top. Starting with the long side, roll up dough with chocolate inside. Chill for 30-45 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 375˚F (190˚C). Prepare cookies sheets by covering with a
    or parchment paper or by greasing.
  • Slice chilled roll 1/2-inch thick and place onto prepared cookie sheet.
  • Bake for 12-14 minutes. Move to a cooling rack while still warm.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 71kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 90mg | Potassium: 32mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 86IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg

All images and text ©️ Paula Rhodes for Salad in a Jar.com

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4.70 from 26 votes (23 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




27 Comments

  1. Lorie Kennedy says:

    Does the filling run out?

    1. Hi Lorie,

      No, it should not run out because you will chill the dough for 30-45 minutes after you roll up the dough with the chocolate inside and before you slice the dough. This recipe benefits from a practice run. 😉

      Paula

  2. Nancy Neal says:

    5 stars
    Love these cookies since childhood. My Grandmother made them for me. Looking forward to try making them.

    1. Hi Nancy,

      I hope it is the same recipe–got it from an old calendar. I can’t wait to hear how they turn out for you.

  3. Love this recipe! Can I use all natural peanut butter (no extra oils added to the peanut butter)?

    1. Hi Lori,

      I haven’t tried it, but I’m guessing it would work just fine.

  4. Yes, I have made this recipe for chocolate pinwheel cookies for years and they are wonderful. At first had a hard time rolling them out but practice makes perfect I do make them often.

    1. Hi Ginny, I’m so glad you added this encouraging comment. I agree that practice helps.

  5. Yummy cookies. I had no problems except that the way I cut them, I got more than 50 cookies out of that recipe, rather than the 18 that it says, and they are nice sized cookies. Since the roll is 17 inches long, it only makes sense that you’re going to get more than 18 cookies if you cut them 1/4 inch thick.

    1. Jane,

      Hmmmm. What you say about the number of cookies makes complete sense. Math was never my best subject. However, this gives me an excuse to make these cookies and do a re-count. Thanks for writing.

  6. Melissa B says:

    5 stars
    Love the photo of you and your sisiter playing Scrabble! =)
    This pinwheel recipe sounds so good! I really enjoy looking around your blog, have a great weekend!

  7. I would love to be able to make chocolate peanut butter pinwheels, but I have had no luck. After the recommended waiting period, 30 min., the chocolate becomes very hard to cut but the dough is still very soft. As a result I cannot slice the roll. This recipe calls for 6 oz of chocolate which is a whole lot better than the recipes that call for 12 or even 16oz. What am I doing wrong???

    1. Yes, the dough will still be somewhat soft. You might try the freezer for a few minutes. My other tip is to use a very sharp serrated knife to cut the slices. Let the knife sit in hot water a few minutes to heat it up and cut through the chocolate easier. I will admit this part is a little tricky but practice helps.

  8. This looks like a fun cookie recipe that I’d like to try. One question though. Is that 16 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate or 1(one) 6 oz. package of semi-sweet chocolate as in a package of chocolate chips?

    1. Carmen,
      That is an excellent question. It should be 1(one) 6-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips. I will make the correction. pr

  9. Miriam @ Overtime Cook says:

    These cookies are absolutely gorgeous looking. Combine that with the fact that it’s my absolute favorite flavor combination….these are definitely going on my do-bake list!

  10. These are so yummy looking, and I love the old scrabble picture too. My daughter was the same way about fixing her own hair too 🙂

  11. TheKitchenWitch says:

    I know two little girls who would think I was the coolest thing ever if I made these.

  12. Betty @ scrambled hen fruit says:

    We spent many an evening with Scrabble too, and just as you, are continuing the tradition with Words With Friends. What a priceless picture of you and your sister! My sister was quite a bit older than me, so she definitely had the advantage way back when. I like to think I can give her a run for her money now though. 🙂 Those cookies look absolutely wonderful- Chocolate and peanut butter are the best, aren’t they?

  13. Love that you and your sister are continuing your love of word games via cyberspace! Cute picture from *back in the day* too.
    The chocolate PB pinwheels looks delicious. A must save and try recipe for sure.

  14. Oh dear… this recipe looks dangerously delicious.
    Love the photograph! Isn’t it wonderful to have memories like these.

  15. The Café Sucré Farine says:

    Such a cute post, Paula – love that picture of you and your sister. I think I might really like playing scrabble if I had a plate of these yummy treats to nibble on! 🙂

  16. bonnie (not your sister!) says:

    What a great idea! So many people, including me, love the peanut butter/choc. combo. Cute photo–reminds me of playing cards endlessly with my older sister when we were kids.

  17. That first picture with the Scrabble prop in the background is worthy of a prize!

  18. Melissa B says:

    5 stars
    Love the photo of you and your sisiter playing Scrabble! =)
    This pinwheel recipe sounds so good! I really enjoy looking around your blog, have a great weekend!

  19. That picture is certainly worth a thousand words. :+)

  20. This recipe couldn’t look or sound better! I have a love of peanut butter cups too!

    Sweet photo of you and Bonnie. You look intent on finding a really good word 🙂