Crumbl Muddy Buddy Cookies (Copycat Recipe)

CRUMBL MUDDY BUDDY COOKIES (Copycat Recipe)

5/22/2022

While everyone’s tucked in bed dreaming of cookies, I’m baking these Crumbl Muddy Buddy Cookies for a sweet surprise! So fast and easy to make, with a no-chill dough, it’s easy to see why this copycat recipe is always a favorite at our house! Start with a super soft, thick and chewy peanut butter cookie, swirl with a silky chocolate peanut butter ganache, and top with Muddy Buddies and a dusting of powdered sugar – it’s a peanut butter trifecta! Whether you share or tackle on your own, these are the cookies that chocolate and peanut butter lovers dream of!

Crumbl Muddy Buddy Cookies (Copycat Recipe)

WHAT ARE THE CLASSIC CRUMBL COOKIES?

Up until April of 2022, you could always find the famous chilled Sugar Cookies with Sweet Almond Icing and Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies. They have discontinued the chilled Sugar Cookies from the permanent menu, and now offer an additional specialty flavor each week.

WHAT ARE THE CRUMBL SPECIALTY FLAVORS?

Every Sunday night Crumbl announcing a new weekly menu of cookie flavors for the week on social media, which is brilliant on their part! People crowd into their stores to try new flavors as they are rolled out, and to pick up their favorites when they are available to freeze for a rainy day.

It truly is hard to decide which is our favorite - and it's fun to share new cookies and revise our "favorites" list! Will it be Birthday Cake, Snickerdoodle Cupcake, Cookies 'n Cream, Pink Velvet, Cinnamon Bun, Chocolate Mallow Cupcake, Key Lime, Chocolate Caramel, Sea Salt Toffee, Ultimate Peanut Butter, Berries & Cream, Boston Cream Pie... or these wonderful Peanut Butter Muddy Buddy Cookies? Crumbl, you're killing us! Good thing I love to tinker in the kitchen to create and share copycat recipes!

They also sell their custom pink "cookie cutter", which allows you to cut each massive cookie into four equal pieces. And I forgot to mention that they also have four custom Ice Cream flavors that rotate weekly as well - as if life wasn't hard enough already!

FOR PERFECT GOURMET OR BAKERY STYLE COOKIES EVERY TIME, USE THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS:

For gourmet cookies, only the best ingredients will give you the texture, richness and depth of flavor we all crave. Make sure to use fresh ingredients for the best results!

Butter: I recommend using a good quality unsalted butter for this recipe. I use Kerrygold or Land O Lakes Unsalted Butter and avoid generic/bargain brands of butter, which often contain water. Make sure that the butter is softened for your cookie dough, and icy cold for the streusel.
Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar: This recipe uses a mixture of sugars in both the cookie dough, as well as in the streusel topping. I recommend Domino Pure Cane Sugar and Domino Pure Cane Dark Sugar. For caramel-like sweetness, I use dark brown sugar, but you can use light brown sugar as well!
Eggs: For the best cookie dough, always use large eggs, and at room temperature.
Pure Vanilla Extract: Always use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor in cookies. For something different you can also use Vanilla Bean Paste for an extra depth of flavor in this recipe. Rodelle is my preferred brand for Pure Vanilla Extract and Vanilla Bean Paste - both are made with the highest-quality Bourbon vanilla beans from Madagascar.
Flour: King Arthur All Purpose Unbleached Flour is my favorite for cookies (it contains more gluten than other brands). Pillsbury All Purpose is my back-up, but weighs differently – make sure to adjust as necessary. (For reference, King Arthur is 120g per cup, Pillsbury is 129g per cup.)
Milk Powder: The secret ingredient in these cookies!
Baking Powder: Make sure that you use “aluminum-free” baking powder to avoid a tinny flavor. Rumford is one of the oldest and trusted brands.
Baking Soda: Make sure to use fresh baking soda when baking for the best leavening.
Salt: To avoid a tinny flavor, never use iodized salt in cookies, cakes or brownies. Morten Non-Iodized Table Salt is my preferred brand for cooking and baking. For sea salt flakes, I use Maldon Sea Salt Flakes.
Peanut Butter: For best results, use Skippy or Jif Creamy Peanut Butter. Natural peanut butters tend to separate when baked, and will not give you the perfect cookie base you need for these cookies. If you would like a little more “bite” to your cookies, you can substitute chunky peanut butter for creamy peanut butter.

Crumbl Muddy Buddy Cookies (Copycat Recipe)

MILK POWDER IS THE SECRET TO BETTER COOKIES, BROWNIES & CAKES:

The best thing about baking homemade treats is that you can make hundreds of different delicious things using the same few ingredients. Cakes, cookies, pastries and brownies all start more or less the same way – with flour, sugar, eggs and butter.
Making perfectly textured cakes or crisp and chewy cookies is usually more about baking technique than about ingredients, but there is a secret ingredient that can make almost every baked good taste better – Milk Powder!
Milk powder, which is also called powdered milk (and should not be confused with malted milk powder) is essentially milk in its most concentrated form. It adds fat, protein and flavor in a way that doesn’t mess with the liquid portion of your baking, and adds a bonus layer of richness, sweetness and creaminess to pretty much anything you bake. It’s the “secret weapon ingredient” that works magic when it’s added to a recipe – it makes frostings and ice creams creamier, denser and silkier, and cookies and brownies chewier. It helps breads rise higher, and flatbreads and pastry more tender.
Adding just a tablespoon of nonfat milk powder to your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, before you combine them with softened butter, sugar and eggs, adds depth to baked goods. If you are using cocoa powder or chocolate chips in your recipe, it intensifies the flavor of chocolate – making regular chocolate taste more luxurious and vanilla flavor more magical. It is the secret ingredient in these Peanut Butter Muddy Buddy Cookies!

Crumbl Muddy Buddy Cookies (Copycat Recipe)

LOVE CRUMBL COOKIES? YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE!

Crumbl Muddy Buddy Cookies (Copycat Recipe)

CRUMBL MUDDY BUDDY COOKIES (Copycat Recipe)

Crumbl Muddy Buddy Cookies (Copycat Recipe)

INGREDIENTS:
PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter softened
2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk (room temperature)
3 cups (375g) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon milk powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups(300g) brown sugar (light or dark)
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup creamy peanut butter

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER GANACHE:
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup heavy cream

TOPPING:
Traditional Muddy Buddies

HOW I MAKE THESE:

Set butter and eggs out to come to room temperature (this helps them incorporate into the cookie dough better).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
PREPARE COOKIES: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, milk powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until completely creamy and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
Scrape down the sides and add in the eggs one at a time, beating well between each is fully mixed in, add egg yolk and again beat until well blended.
Add peanut butter and vanilla extract; beat until well blended.
Scrape down the sides and add in the flour mixture, ½ at a time, mixing just until blended; add remaining flour mixture and again mix just until blended. This cookie dough will be really soft and creamy!
Using a large cookie scoop (3 Tablespoon size), scoop out cookie dough and roll into a ball with your hands. Repeat with remaining dough.
Place six cookie dough balls on each baking sheet, leaving room between each cookie as the cookies will spread when they bake.
Press down gently with the palm of your hand to slightly flatten each cookie ball.
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the centers of the cookies have puffed up and are no longer glossy. Every oven is a little bit different, so watch your first batch when baking and time accordingly. DO NOT OVERBAKE, as these cookies will lose their softness if overbaked.
Remove from oven and immediately press the bottom of a glass dup or measuring cup in the center of each baked cookie, and press down gently to create a small indentation or crater in the middle of each cookie.
Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets.
PREPARE CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER GANACHE: In a microwave safe bowl, combine the ganache ingredients and microwave in 30 second increments on medium (50%) power, stirring well between each microwave session, just until the chocolate and peanut butter chips are melted. Whisk until the mixture is well combined, silky and shiny. Allow to cool and thicken for a few minutes.
FROST & GARNISH: Spoon melted Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache into the center of each cookie while they are still slightly warm, which will give the ganache a nice, smooth top, and swirl the top with a back of a small spoon to create a sweet swirl design.
Top each cookie with Muddy Buddies, either homemade or store bought. You can find my recipe for homemade Muddy Buddies at snowflakesandcoffeecakes.com.
Once the cookies have completely cooled, chill in the fridge until ready to serve. Allow cookies to set completely before storing – keep parchment paper between each layer or place cookies in individual self-sealing bags for easy freezing and serving.
These cookies will stay soft and fresh in an air-tight container refrigerated for up to 5 days, and are best served chilled.

YIELD: Makes about 20 (four-inch) cookies

RECIPE NOTES:

WHAT KIND OF PEANUT BUTTER WORKS BEST IN THESE COOKIES? For best results, use Skippy or Jif Creamy Peanut Butter. Natural peanut butters tend to separate when baked, and will not give you the perfect cookie base you need for these cookies. If you would like a little more “bite” to your cookies, you can substitute chunky peanut butter for creamy peanut butter.

WHAT EXACTLY IS MILK POWDER, AND DO I NEED TO USE IT IN THIS RECIPE? Milk powder, which is also called powdered milk (and should not be confused with malted milk powder) is essentially milk in its most concentrated form. It adds fat, protein and flavor in a way that doesn’t mess with the liquid portion of your baking, and adds a bonus layer of richness, sweetness and creaminess to pretty much anything you bake. It’s the “secret weapon ingredient” that works magic when it’s added to this cookie recipe!

TO KEEP THESE COOKIES SOFT: These cookies will stay soft and fresh in an air-tight container refrigerated for up to 5 days, and are best served chilled.

MAKE AHEAD TIP: Baked and frosted cookies freeze well for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight UNOPENED on your kitchen countertop.

FOR PARTIES: I package cookies individually in self-sealing clear cellophane cello bags (Pack It Chic are my favorite brand). Make sure cookies are completely dry after decorating before packaging. To make ahead, place individually wrapped and sealed cookies in a larger airtight container and refrigerate or freeze. Thaw frozen cookies in the refrigerator or on your countertop before serving - you are trying to minimize moisture during defrosting, which can cause your frosting to run or bleed and streusel topping to soften.

Original recipe created by Snowflakes & Coffeecakes; published May 2022.

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