Cookie Dough-Filled Reese's Cups Recipe

By
Stella Parks
Stella Parks
Stella Parks
Editor Emeritus
Stella Parks is a CIA-trained baking nerd and pastry wizard, dubbed one of America's Best New Pastry Chefs by Food & Wine. She was the pastry editor at Serious Eats from 2016 to 2019.
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Updated August 30, 2018
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Sarah Jane Sanders

You may think the baking soda is a vestigial ingredient left over from the original cookie dough recipe. But baking soda does more than help cookies puff and brown in the oven, it also neutralizes the slightly acidic flavor of brown sugar, giving the cookie dough just the right flavor.

These cookie dough cups are for everyone! Go vegan in honor of Kenji by using coconut oil or shortening instead of butter. For those eating gluten free, simply replace the flour with your favorite GF blend (I love using half kinako (roasted soy flour) and half rice flour in this recipe).

Complete chocolate tempering instructions are beyond the scope of this recipe, however, you can find a great tempering tutorial from Liddabit chocolatier Liz Gutman here.. But take heart: you don't have to actually temper the chocolate if you store the finished cups in the fridge. Untempered chocolate can be tacky and soft at room temperature, so keeping them in the fridge is important.

Note: All measurements are in weights, as volume measures can be very imprecise. I strongly recommend using a scale for all pastry projects. Serious Eats' recommended kitchen scales are here.

Recipe Details

Cookie Dough-Filled Reese's Cups Recipe

Active 30 mins
Total 45 mins
Makes 12 candy cups
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces unsalted butter
  • 2 ounces brown sugar
  • 1 1/4 ounces sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch nutmeg
  • 3 ounces flour
  • 1/2 ounce vanilla extract
  • 1 ounce mini chips or finely chopped chocolate
  • 12 ounces chocolate, finely chopped

Directions

  1. Make the cookie dough:

    With a hand or stand mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, baking soda and nutmeg on medium speed until light and fluffy.

    Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour all at once. Drizzle in the vanilla and then add the chocolate chips.

    Use a rubber spatula to transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a large, plain tip.

  2. Prepare the cups: Arrange 12 cupcake liners on a baking sheet, set aside. Temper the chocolate, or proceed with melted chocolate instead. In either case, pour 1/2 ounce chocolate into each cupcake liner.

  3. Use the pastry bag to pipe about three quarters of an ounce of cookie dough directly into the center of each cup. This will force the chocolate away from the center and up the sides. (You can see step by step photos of this process here.)

  4. Use a damp finger to gently pat down the "peak" of each cookie dough center. Next, top each cup with another half ounce of chocolate.

  5. Take the sheet pan in both hands a gently rap it against the counter to level the chocolate and dislodge any air bubbles.

  6. If using untempered chocolate, refrigerate cups until hardened, about thirty minutes. Tempered chocolate will harden on its own in a few minutes

    Store cups in an airtight container. They will keep for about a week at room temperature or indefinitely in the fridge or freezer. Unwrap just before serving.

    Please remember, if you use untempered chocolate you must store the candies in the refrigerator at all times.

Special equipment

piping bag, plain tip

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