Gooey Fluffernutter Cookies: The Ultimate Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Delight
Prepare yourself for an irresistible treat that expertly marries the classic flavors of a beloved American sandwich with the comforting warmth of a freshly baked cookie. These Fluffernutter Cookies are a symphony of textures and tastes, featuring soft, chewy peanut butter cookies generously filled with pockets of gooey, melted marshmallows, and crowned with extra peanut butter chips. Forget the bread; this delightful dessert reimagines the iconic fluffernutter experience in a truly unforgettable way.
Why These Fluffernutter Cookies Are an Absolute Must-Make
If you’re a fan of the classic fluffernutter sandwich – that delightful concoction of marshmallow creme and peanut butter nestled between two slices of bread – then you are in for a truly extraordinary experience with these cookies. Our recipe takes the familiar combination of salty-sweet peanut butter and sugary marshmallow to a whole new level, transforming it into a warm, chewy, and utterly decadent cookie that’s perfect for any occasion.
What makes this recipe particularly special and incredibly effective is our innovative approach to incorporating the marshmallows. Instead of using marshmallow creme, which can easily disappear into cookie dough, we encase actual marshmallows within each soft peanut butter cookie. This technique creates a distinct, gooey center that remains beautifully pockets of melted marshmallow even after baking. The contrast between the rich, tender peanut butter cookie and the molten marshmallow interior is pure dessert magic. Furthermore, we’ve added a strategic layer of peanut butter chips on top, ensuring every bite is packed with intense peanut butter flavor and an appealing visual texture. This isn’t just a cookie; it’s an elevated flavor journey that captures the essence of a childhood favorite in sophisticated dessert form.
Essential Ingredients for Your Fluffernutter Cookies
Crafting these delectable fluffernutter cookies requires a blend of standard baking staples and a couple of star ingredients to achieve that signature flavor and texture. You’ll find a detailed list of all measurements and instructions in the printable recipe card towards the end of this comprehensive guide. Here’s a quick overview of what you’ll need to gather:
- Regular-sized marshmallows (cut in half)
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Baking soda
- Cornstarch
- Unsalted butter (softened)
- Light brown sugar (packed)
- Large egg
- Creamy peanut butter
- Vanilla extract
- Peanut butter chips
Each ingredient plays a crucial role in creating the perfect balance of sweetness, chewiness, and that irresistible gooey center. We’ll delve into specific tips and substitution suggestions for key ingredients in the following section to ensure your baking success.
Detailed Ingredient Information & Expert Substitution Tips
Understanding the role of each ingredient can significantly elevate your baking game and ensure your fluffernutter cookies turn out perfectly every time. Here’s a closer look at the key components and helpful tips for each:
MARSHMALLOWS: The Gooey Core
The secret to achieving that wonderfully gooey, molten marshmallow center without it completely dissolving or seeping out is two-fold. Firstly, we recommend using regular-sized marshmallows, cut in half. This provides a substantial marshmallow core that holds its structure better than smaller pieces. Secondly, and critically, freezing the marshmallows beforehand is essential. This crucial step slows down the melting process in the oven, giving the cookie dough enough time to set around the marshmallow, thus reducing excessive seepage. While a little bit of melted marshmallow escaping is normal and even part of their rustic charm, freezing helps maintain their integrity. When wrapping the marshmallow in dough, position it closer to the top of the cookie dough ball rather than the bottom to minimize leakage onto the baking sheet.
Many wonder if marshmallow creme can be substituted. Unfortunately, marshmallow creme is not ideal for this recipe. Its already thin and gooey consistency makes it incredibly difficult to wrap within the cookie dough and it tends to melt too quickly and spread excessively, resulting in a mess rather than a contained gooey center. Stick to actual marshmallows for the best results.
COOKIE DOUGH: The Perfect Peanut Butter Base
The foundation of these fluffernutter cookies is a robust, soft, and chewy peanut butter cookie dough. We’re using a tried-and-true version of our reliable peanut butter cookie recipe. This base is designed to be tender yet firm enough to hold the marshmallow. The combination of softened butter and packed light brown sugar contributes significantly to the cookie’s chewiness and rich flavor profile. If you’re feeling adventurous and want to introduce a touch of chocolate, you could experiment with a chocolate peanut butter cookie base, such as our chocolate peanut butter cookies, but be mindful of how the added chocolate chips might affect the dough’s workability around the marshmallow.
PEANUT BUTTER CHIPS: The Flavorful Topping
While some recipes suggest mixing chips directly into the dough, for these fluffernutter cookies, we found it significantly easier and more effective to dot the peanut butter chips on top of the formed cookie dough balls before baking. Attempting to mix the chips into the dough makes it much more challenging to properly encase the delicate marshmallow, often leading to uneven distribution or even tearing the dough. By placing them on top, you ensure a prominent peanut butter flavor in every bite and a beautiful, textured finish that spreads delightfully as the cookies bake. You may use a little more or less than ½ cup depending on how generously you like your cookies topped.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Make Fluffernutter Cookies
These step-by-step photos and detailed instructions are provided to help you visualize each stage of the recipe. For a convenient printable version, complete with precise measurements and full instructions, simply jump to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Prepare Marshmallows: Begin by cutting your regular-sized marshmallows in half. Arrange these marshmallow halves on a plate lined with wax paper and place them in the freezer. Freezing is crucial as it helps the marshmallows maintain their shape and prevents them from melting too quickly during baking.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, and cornstarch until thoroughly combined. This ensures even distribution of the leavening agents and seasoning throughout your cookies. Set this mixture aside.
- Cream Butter: Using an electric mixer (either a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a handheld mixer) in a large bowl, beat the softened unsalted butter until it’s light and creamy. This aerates the butter, creating a tender crumb in your cookies.
- Add Sugars and Egg: Gradually add the packed light brown sugar to the creamed butter, continuing to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy and completely combined. Next, crack in the large egg and beat again until it’s fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure everything is well mixed.
- Incorporate Peanut Butter and Vanilla: Add the creamy peanut butter and vanilla extract to the wet ingredients. Beat until these are thoroughly combined and the mixture is smooth and uniform.
- Mix in Dry Ingredients: Reduce your mixer speed to low. Gradually add the whisked flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing only until no traces of dry flour remain. Be careful not to overmix, as this can lead to tough cookies. At this stage, do NOT add the peanut butter chips; they will be used later as a topping just before baking.
- Chill the Dough: Use a large cookie scoop (approximately 3 tablespoons) to portion out all of the cookie dough into uniform balls. Place these dough balls onto a wax paper-lined plate or tray. Transfer the tray to the refrigerator and chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.
EXPERT TIP: Peanut butter cookie dough can be quite sticky at room temperature. Chilling the dough firm it up, making it significantly easier to handle and wrap around the marshmallows without sticking to your hands.
- Preheat Oven & Prepare Baking Sheets: While the dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line insulated baking sheets with parchment paper. Parchment paper prevents sticking and makes cleanup a breeze.
- Assemble Cookies: Remove the chilled dough balls from the refrigerator. Wearing gloves (this helps prevent sticking), gently flatten one dough ball into a disk. Take half of a frozen marshmallow and place it into the center of the flattened dough. Carefully gather the edges of the dough up and around the marshmallow, pinching and pressing the dough together to completely seal the marshmallow inside. Ensure there are no gaps where the marshmallow could escape.
EXPERT TIP: To further prevent marshmallow seepage, try to position the marshmallow closer to the top surface of the cookie dough ball, rather than centered or towards the bottom. This creates a thicker barrier of dough at the base. It’s also crucial to keep the marshmallows frozen until just before you’re ready to enclose them in the dough. Only pull out enough marshmallows for the batch you’re about to put in the oven; return the rest to the freezer to keep them solid. This practice helps significantly in managing the melting process during baking.
- Add Peanut Butter Chips: Place a small handful of peanut butter chips into the palm of one hand. We found that approximately 9 chips per cookie, placed relatively close together, provided the perfect coverage and flavor balance.
- Press Chips onto Cookies: Gently press the top of the marshmallow-filled cookie dough ball directly into the peanut butter chips in your palm. The chips will adhere easily. As the cookies bake and spread, these closely placed chips will also spread out, creating a beautiful, uniform topping.
- Bake Cookies: Arrange the prepared cookies on the parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving enough space for them to spread. Bake for 10-12 minutes. In our oven, they were perfectly done in 10 1/2 minutes.
EXPERT TIP FOR BAKING: The first time you bake these, we highly recommend doing a small test batch of just 2 cookies. This allows you to fine-tune the baking time for your specific oven. Watch them very carefully. The goal is for the marshmallow to melt into a puffy, white, gooey center, not to become clear and bubbly, which indicates overbaking. Overbaked marshmallows can solidify into a hard candy-like texture once cooled. Once you’ve identified the ideal baking duration for your oven, you can confidently bake the rest of your batches.
- Cool on Pan: Once baked, remove the cookies from the oven. These cookies are quite delicate when hot due to their gooey centers. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for a full 10 minutes. Attempting to move them sooner will likely cause them to fall apart.
- Final Cooling: After 10 minutes, carefully transfer the cookies to wire cooling racks to cool completely. This step ensures air circulation around the cookies, preventing them from becoming soggy and helping them set properly.
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips for Success
To maintain their delicious soft and gooey texture, store your Fluffernutter Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will remain fresh and delightful for 5-6 days. For best results, avoid refrigeration as it can dry out the cookies and harden the marshmallow centers.
Absolutely! Freezing the dough is a fantastic way to enjoy freshly baked cookies whenever a craving strikes. Form the cookie dough into individual balls (without the marshmallows or peanut butter chips yet). Flash-freeze them on a large baking sheet until they are solid, typically 1-2 hours. Once frozen, transfer the solid dough balls to an airtight freezer-safe container or a large ziplock bag. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to bake, simply allow the frozen cookie balls to thaw at room temperature for about 30-60 minutes, then proceed with adding the frozen marshmallows and peanut butter chips according to the recipe instructions and bake as usual. Alternatively, you can freeze the entire batch of dough in a single airtight container or bag and portion it out later, but forming individual balls beforehand makes the baking process much quicker.
This is a common issue! The most likely culprits are not freezing the marshmallows long enough, not sealing the dough completely around the marshmallow, or baking the cookies for too long or at too high a temperature. Ensure your marshmallows are frozen solid. When wrapping, make sure the dough completely encases the marshmallow with no visible seams. Follow our expert tip to do a test batch to find the perfect baking time for your oven, aiming for a puffy, white marshmallow center, not a clear, bubbly one.
Delightful Serving Suggestions for Fluffernutter Cookies
These peanut butter and marshmallow cookies are at their absolute best when served partially cooled but still warm from the oven. The slight warmth ensures the marshmallow filling remains delightfully gooey and stretches with every bite, creating an enchanting experience. Enjoy them with a cold glass of milk for a classic pairing, or a cup of hot coffee or tea for a comforting treat. While they’re a wonderful year-round cookie with no specific holiday ties, their unique and appealing combination of flavors makes them a fantastic addition to any dessert table, potluck, or cookie swap, especially during the festive Christmas season. They are also excellent when paired with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream for an extra indulgent dessert.
Explore More Irresistible Peanut Butter Dessert Recipes
If you’re as enamored with the magical combination of peanut butter and sweet treats as we are, you’ll be thrilled to discover these other fan-favorite recipes:
- Peanut Butter Blossoms: A timeless classic with a Hershey’s Kiss center.
- Buckeye Brownie Cookies: The best of peanut butter Buckeyes and rich brownies in one cookie.
- No Bake Peanut Butter Bars: Quick, easy, and incredibly satisfying, perfect for a no-oven required treat.
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls: Rich, creamy, and coated in chocolate – a decadent bite-sized dessert.
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: A wholesome twist on a classic, combining texture and flavor.
I absolutely adore baking and cooking, and I find immense joy in sharing my kitchen experiences and perfected recipes with all of you! Remembering to check back daily for new culinary inspiration can sometimes be a challenge, which is why I offer a convenient newsletter delivered straight to your inbox every time a new recipe is posted. Simply subscribe here and start receiving your free daily dose of delicious recipes, making sure you never miss a single tempting treat!
Fluffernutter Cookies
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
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Ingredients
- 9 marshmallows regular sized, cut in half
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup peanut butter chips you may have some leftover
Things You’ll Need
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Electric mixer
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Vinyl gloves
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Cookie scoop 3 Tablespoon scoop
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Insulated baking sheets
Before You Begin
- The first time you make these, we highly recommend baking only 2 cookies to test. Watch them carefully. Our cookies were perfect at 10 1/2 minutes. When baked for 11 minutes, the marshmallow melted too much and became clear and bubbly. You want the marshmallow to melt, but remain puffy and white. Once you establish the perfect baking time for your oven, you can confidently bake full batches!
- We found it much easier and more effective to dot the peanut butter chips on top of the cookie dough balls rather than mixing them into the dough. Mixing them in can make it significantly more difficult to properly form and seal the cookie dough around the marshmallow.
- Freezing the marshmallows is a critical step that helps prevent them from melting and seeping out of your cookies too quickly. While a small amount of seepage is to be expected and adds to their charm, freezing drastically reduces it. When encasing the marshmallow, try to position it closer to the top of the cookie dough ball rather than the bottom to create a thicker base and minimize leakage. Marshmallow creme is not recommended for this recipe as its thin, gooey consistency will be difficult to work with and prone to excessive melting. It’s best to stick with actual marshmallows here.
Instructions
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Cut regular-sized marshmallows in half and arrange them on a wax paper-lined plate. Place this plate in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cornstarch. Set aside.
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Using an electric mixer in a large bowl, beat the softened unsalted butter until it’s creamy and light.
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Add the packed light brown sugar to the butter and beat until fully combined and fluffy. Then, add the large egg and continue beating until well incorporated.
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Stir in the creamy peanut butter and vanilla extract, beating until the mixture is smooth and uniform.
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With the mixer set to low speed, gradually add the reserved flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix until no streaks of dry flour remain. Avoid overmixing. Do NOT add the peanut butter chips at this stage.
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Using a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons capacity), portion the dough into balls and place them on a wax paper-lined plate or tray. Chill the dough balls in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
TIP: Chilling the dough makes it much easier to handle and wrap around the marshmallows, as it can be quite sticky at room temperature.
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Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line insulated baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Remove the chilled dough balls from the refrigerator. Wearing gloves if desired, slightly flatten one dough ball. Place half a frozen marshmallow into the center. Gently press the marshmallow in and gather the dough up around its sides, carefully pinching and pressing the dough together to completely enclose the marshmallow.
TIP: For minimal marshmallow seepage, ensure the marshmallow is closer to the top surface of the cookie rather than the bottom.
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NOTE: Keep the marshmallows in the freezer until you are ready to use them for each batch you are putting into the oven. This prevents them from melting too quickly as the cookie bakes.
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Place about 9 peanut butter chips (or your preferred amount) into the palm of one hand, grouping them closely together.
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Gently press the top of the marshmallow-filled cookie dough ball into the chips in your palm. The chips will stick easily. As the cookies bake and expand, the chips will spread out with them, creating a lovely topping.
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Place the prepared cookies on the parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them a few inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Our cookies reached perfection in 10 1/2 minutes.
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Once baked, remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking pan for 10 minutes. These cookies are very delicate when hot due to the melted marshmallow center, so moving them too soon will cause them to fall apart.
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Carefully transfer the cooled-on-pan cookies to wire cooling racks to cool completely. Enjoy your homemade Fluffernutter Cookies!
Nutrition
The recipes on this blog are tested with a conventional gas oven and gas stovetop. It’s important to note that some ovens, especially as they age, can cook and bake inconsistently. Using an inexpensive oven thermometer can assure you that your oven is truly heating to the proper temperature. If you use a toaster oven or countertop oven, please keep in mind that they may not distribute heat the same as a conventional full sized oven and you may need to adjust your cooking/baking times. In the case of recipes made with a pressure cooker, air fryer, slow cooker, or other appliance, a link to the appliances we use is listed within each respective recipe. For baking recipes where measurements are given by weight, please note that results may not be the same if cups are used instead, and we can’t guarantee success with that method.