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Peanut Butter Lava Cookies
Peanut butter lava cookies are delectable, indulgent, and shockingly simple to make. Bite into a warm fresh from the oven cookie to reveal an ooey-gooey center.
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Delectable, indulgent, and shockingly simple to make, break open a peanut butter lava cookie to reveal the molten center. You’ll want to eat these as soon as they are cool enough.
MORE RECIPES: Peanut Butter Balls | Chocolate Peanut Butter Lasagna | Old Fashioned Butter Fudge
Peanut Butter Lava Cookies
Take a bite of these delicious cookies to reveal an ooey-gooey center. The favorite of any peanut butter lover, when these cookies are served warm the melted peanut butter core will erupt from the center of the cookie just like lava from a volcano.
No more difficult to make than a tray of ordinary peanut butter cookies, peanut butter lava cookies are warm, flaky, creamy, and delicious. With just three simple ingredients, these will be the easiest lava cookies you ever make.
Combine this recipe with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side or drizzle some hot fudge or caramel sauce on top for an extra appetizing treat. Make sure to serve them with a glass of milk, hot chocolate, or a cup of coffee.
Peanut Butter Lava Cookies Ingredients
- Pie Crust - premade Pie Crust, the kind that is rolled up in a box-you will use both crusts
- Peanut butter - creamy peanut butter, JIF original creamy worked best for me
- Sugar - granulated sugar
These crowd-pleasing creamy cookies can be ready to eat in about 30 minutes. Using store-bought pie crust means these cookies need just three ingredients, but you could also use homemade pie crust if you prefer.
JIF classic creamy peanut butter, Peter Pan creamy, and Skippy No-Stir Natural are all great choices for the peanut butter center of these cookies. Traditional natural peanut butter, the kind with the oils on the top that you have to stir back into the jar, don’t tend to give the lava effect you are looking for and so they don’t work as well in this recipe.
The peanut butter will go back to its room temperature state as it cools, so the only way to experience the lava flow is to serve them warm. However that does mean they can be hot, so keep a careful watch while serving them.
How to Make Peanut Butter Lava Cookies
FIRST STEP: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Set out pie crusts until they are at room temperature (refer to package instructions for time requirements).
SECOND STEP: On a piece of parchment paper, unroll/unfold one pie crust layer and roll slightly with a rolling pin to achieve a crust just a bit thinner than it comes in the package (1/16th-⅛th of an inch).
THIRD STEP: Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter or a glass/jar to cut as many circles as you can fit from the crust.
FOURTH STEP: Spoon 1 tablespoon of JIF original creamy peanut butter onto the center of the round pie piece. Sprinkle with a ⅛ teaspoon of granulated sugar, making sure the sugar stays right on the peanut butter and does not spread to the edges of the pie crust. This will prevent the top from sealing to the bottom piece when we sandwich them together.
FIFTH STEP: Place a second pie piece over the first to form a “sandwich”. Use your fingers to pinch the edges together firmly around the cookie.
*You can also use the tips of a fork to crimp and seal each cookie*
SIXTH STEP: Gently toss the formed cookie in granulated sugar and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
SEVENTH STEP: Repeat with the additional peanut butter and the remaining pie crust pieces. Collect excess pie crust, press into a ball, and reroll to form additional rounds.
EIGHTH STEP: Bake cookies for 12 minutes. The pie crust will just start beginning to brown. Do not overbake.
NINTH STEP: While the cookies are baking, repeat the above steps with the other roll of pie crust.
TENTH STEP: Remove from the oven and let cool for 2 minutes before serving. **Be careful because the peanut butter will still be very hot while in the “lava” state** Peanut butter in the center remains in the “lava” state while the cookies are warm and will firm up as they cool.
Can I freeze lava cookies?
These cookies are meant to be served warm and they will not freeze well. It’s best to make a batch when you are can serve them right after they are finished baking.
What peanut butter should I use for these cookies?
JIF classic creamy peanut butter, Peter Pan creamy, and Skippy No-Stir Natural all work well in this recipe.
What size cookie cutter should I use?
Use a 3-inch cookie cutter to cut the circle out of the dough. You can use the rim of a glass or a ring top from a mason jar if they are the right size.
How to Store Peanut Butter Lava Cookies
IN THE FRIDGE: Lava cookies are best served warm from the oven, but leftover cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
IN THE FREEZER: These cookies don’t do well in the freezer, and if stored for too long the peanut butter will harden completely.
Peanut Butter Lava Cookies
Peanut butter lava cookies are delectable, indulgent, and shockingly simple to make. Bite into a warm fresh from the oven cookie to reveal an ooey-gooey center.
Did you try this recipe?Let our readers know how it turned out by Leaving a Review!
Ingredients
- 14 oz package of premade Pie Crust ((the kind that is rolled up in a box-you will use both crusts))
- 14 tablespoons creamy peanut butter ((JIF original creamy worked best for me))
- 1 cup granulated sugar
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Set out pie crusts until they are at room temperature (refer to package instructions for time requirements).
- On a piece of parchment paper, unroll/unfold one pie crust layer and roll slightly with a rolling pin to achieve a crust just a bit thinner than it comes in the package (1/16th-⅛th of an inch).
- Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter or a glass/jar to cut as many circles as you can fit from the crust.
- Spoon 1 tablespoon of JIF original creamy peanut butter onto the center of the round pie piece. Sprinkle with a ⅛ teaspoon of granulated sugar, making sure the sugar stays right on the peanut butter and does not spread to the edges of the pie crust (this will prevent the top from sealing to the bottom piece when we sandwich them together.)
- Place a second pie piece over the first to form a “sandwich”. Use your fingers to pinch the edges together firmly all the way around the cookie. *You can also use the tips of a fork to crimp and seal each cookie*
- Gently toss the formed cookie in granulated sugar and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Repeat with the additional peanut butter and the remaining pie crust pieces. Collect excess pie crust, press into a ball, and reroll to form additional rounds.
- Bake cookies for 12 minutes. The pie crust will just start beginning to brown. Do not overbake.
- While the cookies are baking, repeat the above steps with the other roll of pie crust
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 2 minutes before serving. **Be careful because the peanut butter will still be very hot while in the “lava” state** Peanut butter in the center remains in the “lava” state while the cookies are warm and will firm up as they cool.
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Nutrition
Calories: 244kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 166mg | Potassium: 115mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg
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