This might be one of my more involved cookie recipes, but it may also be one of the best things I have ever baked.
Filled with the flavor of peanut butter nougat (recipe linked below), these taste exactly like a Snickers bar & it’s just about impossible to keep your hands off of them! When I first developed this recipe, my mother told me they weren’t going to work because she wasn’t willing to share them. As someone whose cookies are always heralded by our family, I took that as a compliment. I couldn’t keep my hands off of these either–they were irresistible. The Snickers that I chopped up for the initial photos paled in comparison.
Now, I never made nougat before I made these cookies–which is why I’ve linked to a recipe below instead of coming up with my own. I didn’t know where to start & the recipe I used has the perfect peanut flavor that you’re looking for from a Snickers. It may seem daunting at first, but when you successfully make the Italian meringue and it dries into a soft and fluffy nougat, you get a real feeling of accomplishment & will feel like you just took your baking skills up a few notches.
The cookies themselves use bittersweet chocolate chips to help cut the sweetness a bit while the top is drizzled with milk chocolate to get that proper Snickers taste and chopped peanuts are both in the cookie and on top to add an extra bit of crunch.
If you don’t want to trust my word on this, my cousin’s 5-year-old son had one of these yesterday and said they may just be the best cookie he’s ever had. If there’s anyone whose word you can trust, it’s that of a kid–they’re not afraid to be blunt & honest!
If you want to impress someone or a crowd–these are definitely the cookies to bake!
| Cook Time | 17-20 minutes |
| Servings |
cookies
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- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream room temperature*
- 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp coarse/flaked sea salt
Ingredients
Salted Caramel
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- Prepare the nougat according to the recipe included on the site linked below. Allow it to set over night.
- Make the salted caramel: In a medium saucepan, heat the granulated sugar over medium-high heat. As the edges begin to caramelize, use a rubber spatula to stir the melted sugar and move whatever hasn't melted to the edges. Once the caramel reaches a deep amber color, remove the pan from the heat and immediately whisk in the butter. The caramel will bubble. While still whisking, slowly pour in the warm cream. Stir in the vanilla and salt.** Pour into a glass container or a jar and allow the caramel sauce to cool and thicken.
- Make the cookie dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand-mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes).
- Add the egg, vanilla, and salted caramel one at a time to the creamed butter & sugar, mixing between each addition. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture, beating until just combined; repeat with the other 1/2.
- Stir in the chopped peanuts, bittersweet chocolate chips, and 1/4-1/2 of the nougat***. Allow the dough to chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the cookies onto the baking sheet and bake 17-20 minutes. Allow to cool for 3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Once the cookies are cool. Drizzle with the extra salted caramel, melted milk chocolate, and top with peanuts.
Peanut Butter Nougat Recipe - It may seem crazy, but making your own nougat is totally worth it for this recipe! It's what makes the entire cookie. This nougat recipe was perfect from the start. It does require some setting over night.
*Using room temperature butter and cream will keep the caramel from spitting back at you or seizing like it does when you add cold ingredients to the hot sugar.
**If the caramel begins to harden while stirring in the butter or the cream, put it back over medium-high heat stirring constantly until the caramel melts again and everything comes back together with a gentle bubble.
***I typically only add 1/4 of the nougat recipe at this stage and stuff the center of the dough with the other 1/4 later on. You can easily add it all in at once though if you don't want the extra step. The nougat melts into the cookie anyway, imparting the flavor throughout the cookie.
To make the caramel clean up easy, fill the pan with water and allow it to boil until all of the sugar has melted. It's so much better than trying to chip off any hardened bits of caramel!