Chocolate Peanut Butter Pinwheel Cookies

Chocolate and peanut butter just go together. This yummy duo provides the perfect combination of sweet and salty. 

If you’re as old as I am (ahem) you probably remember the original commercials for Reese’s peanut butter cups. I vaguely remember one where a guy is walking down some steps outside of a building holding a chocolate bar. He trips, and his chocolate lands in someone else’s peanut butter. 

The result? Magic. 

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Just Go Together!

The two flavors, it turns out, as perfect together. We see that duo in candy bars, in cookies (like my Peanut Butter Nutella cookies) and even in cakes. If you’re a Buckeye fan, you’ve also enjoyed them in that particular homemade candy. 

Until today, though, I’d never considered the idea that I could make pinwheel cookies out of peanut butter and chocolate. 

I’ll be honest: I didn’t look up a recipe. I wanted to come up with my own. So, I faced it as an experiment. 

Are you wondering what ingredients I used? You'll find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but for now here's a quick peek at what you'll need:

Cookie Ingredients

• salted butter
• granulated sugar
• brown sugar
• large room temperature eggs
• creamy peanut butter
• all purpose flour
• baking powder
• cocoa powder 

How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Pinwheels

Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Prepare 2 cookie sheets by placing parchment paper on them.

It's time to start mixing! This is one of those easy recipes you're going to want to make again and again!

Cream butter until light and fluffy

Add sugars and continue to mix until well incorporated. (You can use an electric mixer or a stand mixer with paddle attachment.)

Work in the two eggs and mix at medium speed until smooth. 

Stir in the peanut butter. 

Once fully blended it’s time to add the dry ingredients. Whisk together baking powder and flour, then add slowly to the wet ingredients. 

Divide dough in half. Place half of the peanut butter dough in a bowl and set in the refrigerator.

To the half that’s remaining in the mixing bowl, add cocoa powder. Mix at low speed so you don't make a mess! Make sure it's fully incorporated.

You now have two separate doughs. 

Cover with a piece of plastic wrap (or place in ziplock baggie) and place in the freezer for 10 – 15 minutes then remove chilled dough from the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees while dough is chilling. 

Roll out your chocolate dough into a rectangle. (Chocolate layer should be about ¼ inch thick).

On a separate piece of waxed paper roll out your peanut butter dough (about ¼ inch thick, same size rectangle). Roll between sheets of waxed paper. Trim edges if necessary.

Place the peanut butter rectangle on top of the chocolate rectangle. (You can see the wrinkles on the peanut butter layer from the waxed paper, formed before I flipped it over onto the chocolate dough.)

Now it’s time to roll up your log. 

Using a sharp knife, slice the pinwheels about ½ inch thick and place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. 

I use Nordic Ware pans, along with the perfect parchment sheets that are pre-cut to fit the half-sheet perfectly!

Voila! Chocolate-peanut butter pinwheels!

Place in pre-heated oven and bake chocolate peanut butter pinwheels for 10-11 minutes. (Check out that gorgeous pinwheel shape!)

Remove and place baking sheet on wire rack to cool. 

When you’re able, use a spatula to lift the cookies and move them directly to a wire rack to continue cooling. 

Store in an airtight container. These cookies will stay fresh 2-3 days. 

Prepper note: If you’re like I am and you like to prep food in advance you can freeze the logs before they are baked. Basically, you’ll be creating your own version of slice-n-bake. 

Frozen dough bakes better low-and-slow, so bake frozen pinwheels at 350 degrees for 11-13 minutes or until done. 

These frozen logs should last up to six months in the freezer if they’re stored properly in an air-tight container.

What to Expect from these Cookies

First, I was startled by how neat and tidy they looked after baking. I thought they might spread more. Likely, the addition of baking powder (as opposed to baking soda) prevented additional rise. 

Also, the texture of these cookies was perfect. Solid on the outside, soft and tender on the inside. They offered a delicious bite. 

I had mine with a cup of Constant Comment tea, loaded with cream. I pretended I was British royalty having a fancy tea time. (Honestly? I was just avoiding cleaning my messy kitchen.)

These are the perfect sweet treat! And it doesn't take much time to make them.

Variations on this recipe

This is an easy dessert recipe that your guests will be talking about long after your get-together.

I’m already thinking of ways I could jazz this up next time. I’m wondering about adding something between the layers—like mini chocolate chips. Or sprinkles. Or a layer of hot fudge or peanut butter. (Layers of fudge? Yes, please!)

Not in the mood for peanut butter? No problem! Spice these up by using cookie butter instead of peanut butter.  

Use one layer of plain peanut butter dough with preserves spread on top. You'll end up with a jelly roll!

Other Cookies You Might Enjoy

This base recipe for this easy treat is similar to my cut-out sugar cookie dough recipe, (minus the peanut butter and with powdered sugar in place of brown). My cookie dough recipe calls for only three cups of flour instead of 3 ½. (I had to up the flour for this peanut butter recipe after adding a full cup of peanut butter, which is oil-heavy.) 

If you’re a fan of peanut butter cookies and want a simpler way to merge peanut butter and chocolate you can always make my Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies and throw in some chocolate chips or chocolate chunks. You could also sandwich them together with chocolate ganache. 

Speaking of sandwich cookies, I’ve got a terrific recipe for a Peanut Butter Nutella cookie. 

I’ve even got a truly simple recipe for peanut butter cookies that start with a white cake mix. 

If you love chocolate and peanut butter together, there’s a terrific recipe for Chocolate and Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies over at Back to my Southern Roots. 

---

Follow me on social media!

• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Instagram
• X
• TikTok
• YouTube