Ritz Cracker Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

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Ritz Cracker Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies are the perfect combo of creamy peanut butter, milk and white chocolate, and butterscotch chips. These freezer cookies are great for making ahead of the busy holiday season but they disappear quickly!

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Other Christmas Treats

Ritz Cracker Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

These Ritz Cracker Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies are my favorite Christmas cookies. I lie. I can’t choose a favorite. But they are the ones I tend to instinctively grab the most.

The mixture that you dip the peanut butter cracker sandwiches in is a perfect balance of milk/dark chocolate, white chocolate, and butterscotch chips. I think it’s the butterscotch chips that provide that extra something that keeps me coming back. Although subtle, it pairs so well with the peanut butter.

Overhead shot of a Ritz Cracker Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie with a bite out of it.

I’m continuing with the frozen no-bake desserts to help you prepare for the holiday season. There is one more Ritz Cracker recipe after this one (Ritz Cracker Peppermint Peppermint Cookies) and then I’m switching over to baked cookies.

Both Ritz Cracker cookie recipes are addicting and super easy but this one is definitely the richer of the two.

The most time-intensive part is dipping each cookie into the chocolate. But biting into the thin but crisp chocolate coating, crunchy cracker, and creamy hardened peanut butter is totally worth it.

Close up vertical shot of a stack of Ritz Cracker Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies with a bite taken out of the top cookie.

We always make the same cookies and candies every year for Christmas. I’m very hopeful that this Christmas season I’ll actually be able to partake in all the treats.

With ulcerative colitis, I always seemed to be getting sick, hospitalized, or recovering from being hospitalized during the whole holiday season (which I consider to be from October-December). It’s my favorite time of year and it has just killed me that I haven’t been able to partake fully.

FAQ about Ritz Cracker Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Here is a break down of some really good questions that readers have asked about these cookies!

What’s a double boiler?

A double boiler is a piece of kitchen equipment that’s often used with delicate ingredients where direct heat could cause them to seize or separate (like chocolate). It consists of two pots. The first, or bottom, is larger and looks like a regular saucepan. The second, or top, is more shallow and nests inside the larger one. 

But if you don’t have one, don’t worry. Just set a metal mixing bowl over a regular saucepan. Whether you use a double boiler or a saucepan and mixing bowl, make sure the bottom of the top bowl doesn’t touch the surface of the water.

Can I use baking chips instead of melting wafers?

Unfortunately, baking chips don’t work very well. They melt okay one time around, but the constant heat that’s required to keep the chocolate melted and smooth for dipping makes it seize up and you get a lumpy melt.

Can I use natural peanut butter?

Sorry, for these cookies, partially hydrogenated peanut butters are best. They are able to maintain their hold while being dipped in the hot chocolate better than non-hydrogenated peanut butters.

How much peanut butter should I use?

How much peanut butter you use in each cookie is up to you. I like the layer of peanut butter to be about equal or a little more than the thickness of a Ritz Cracker. Mostly, it comes down to personal taste.

However, a very large amount of peanut butter in a Ritz Cracker sandwich can be hard to cover completely with the melted chocolate. And sometimes a small portion of it will end up melting into the chocolate mixture.

If you are trying to determine how much peanut butter you should buy, a small 8-ounce container of peanut butter might not be enough but a standard 16-ounce container is plenty enough.

How do I dip the cookies?

I use small tongs (like the one below in the Ingredients and Tools section) to drop the Ritz Cracker sandwiches into the chocolate. I then use them to flip the cookie and pick it up.

To get rid of the excess chocolate and get a smooth coating of chocolate, I tap the tongs on the side of the pan before transferring the cookie to a baking sheet.

You can also use a fork. After dropping the cookie into the chocolate, use the fork to flip the cookie and then scoop it up, tapping the fork on the side of the pan and sliding the cookie off onto the baking sheet.

Ingredients and Tools

5 from 7 votes

Ritz Cracker Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Ritz Cracker Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies are the perfect combo of creamy peanut butter, milk and white chocolate, and butterscotch chips. These freezer cookies are great for making ahead of the busy holiday season but they disappear quickly! 
Servings 30 cookies
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 60 Ritz Crackers
  • Creamy peanut butter like Skippy, natural peanut butter doesn't work as well
  • 12 ounces milk or dark melting chocolate*
  • 8 ounces white melting chocolate*
  • 6 ounces butterscotch baking chips*

Instructions

  • Make peanut butter sandwiches with two Ritz Crackers and peanut butter.
  • Fill the bottom portion of a double boiler (see note) with water. Make sure when you place the top portion on, the water doesn't touch the bottom. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low so that the water is simmering.
  • Place the top portion of the double boiler over the simmering water. Add the milk/dark chocolate, white chocolate, and butterscotch melting wafers and baking chips together and melt, stirring with a rubber spatula.
  • Use small tongs to dip the sandwiches in the melted chocolate mixture. Shake off excess chocolate by tapping the tongs on the edge of the double boiler. Place the cookie on a baking sheet. You can also drop the cookie in the chocolate, flip it with a fork, and then use the fork to scoop up the cookie.
  • Once the cookie sheet is full, place it in the freezer until the cookies are frozen. Store in a zip lock bag in the freezer.

Notes

  • I’ve gotten the best results with Ghirardelli melting wafers and Guittard’s butterscotch chips for these cookies. 
Double Boiler
A double boiler is a piece of kitchen equipment that’s often used with delicate ingredients where direct heat could cause them to seize or separate (like chocolate). It consists of two pots. The first, or bottom, is larger and looks like a regular saucepan. The second, or top, is more shallow and nests inside the larger one. 
But if you don’t have one, don’t worry. Just set a metal mixing bowl over a regular saucepan. Whether you use a double boiler or a saucepan and mixing bowl, make sure the bottom of the top bowl doesn’t touch the surface of the water.
Author: Megan Wells
Course: Desserts
Keyword: Christmas cookies, holiday recipe, Ritz Cracker cookie

Sincerely, Meg: Who is Feeling…

The struggles of surgery recovery and adding food back into my diet.

  • I’m trying to stick to the recommended low fat and fiber diet after reconnection surgery (which happened August 30, 2016)
  • My weight is hanging out around 100 pounds (20 pounds lighter than normal) after being hospitalized for 21 days for pancreatitis, reconnection surgery, pouchitis, and post-operative ileus
  • Doing yoga feels strange and uncomfortable because of all my bony protrusions and the heartbeat I can feel in my stomach, which is a little freaky
Picture of a spooky mansion with text written below: I often feel like my digestive system is my own monster, my It stalking me in the shadows, retaining a will and life separate of my own.

You can read more details about how I’m feeling right now in this Health Update post: Surgery Recovery and Diet Problems.

Ritz Cracker Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies are the perfect combo of creamy peanut butter, milk and white chocolate, and butterscotch chips. These freezer cookies are great for making ahead of the busy holiday season but they disappear quickly! | #christmascookies #holidaycookies | www.megiswell.com
Ritz Cracker Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies are the perfect combo of creamy peanut butter, milk and white chocolate, and butterscotch chips. These freezer cookies are great for making ahead of the busy holiday season but they disappear quickly! | #christmascookies #holidaycookies | www.megiswell.com
Ritz Cracker Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies are the perfect combo of creamy peanut butter, milk and white chocolate, and butterscotch chips. These freezer cookies are great for making ahead of the busy holiday season but they disappear quickly! | #christmascookies #holidaycookies | www.megiswell.com
Ritz Cracker Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies are the perfect combo of creamy peanut butter, milk and white chocolate, and butterscotch chips. These freezer cookies are great for making ahead of the busy holiday season but they disappear quickly! | #christmascookies #holidaycookies | www.megiswell.com

Join the Conversation

    1. They last a long time, especially if you’re keeping them in the freezer. They’ve always been a part of the Christmas cookie tins I give to neighbors. I tend to put them in the tins right before I give them out and usually tell the neighbors they’re a freezer cookie. But they’re fine at room temperature as well.

  1. Do they need to be frozen? I need something for a work holiday party and these look great, but no way to keep them frozen once I leave home and they won’t be served for hours.

    1. Hi Kathleen, unfortunately, baking chocolate chips don’t work. They don’t do very well with the constant heat that’s needed to keep the chocolate the right consistency to dip the crackers in.

      1. Thanks for your response. I thought that. Chips are made to hold their shape. I think i remember doing it once. It was too thick and wouldn’t really coat and drip off.

  2. I I made these for my kids for after school treats but I also put jelly on them. My kids range in age from 61 to 50 and they still enjoy them. I like the other recipes too

  3. hi i see your recipe for the ritz cracker chocolate peanut butter cookies i would like to make them but how much peanut butter should i have . looks delis .

    1. Hi, Caroline! It depends on how much peanut butter you put in the Ritz cracker sandwiches. I’m not sure a small 8-ounce jar of peanut butter would be enough but the standard size (which is usually 16 ounces) is plenty. Hope that helps!

  4. 5 stars
    All the cookies ? look so tempting. I know I will try quite a few. I just love a good cookie and with peanut butter yum ? oh!! One thing that really caught my attention was how sick you have been. I really have a lot of the same issues. I was just in the hospital for emergency surgery on my intestines. When you rub my belly you can feel the scare tissue. It’s horrible I hate being sick like this. I weight 183 in Feb of last yr. now I’m down to 100. Sometimes I go up but it always comes back down. I hate the fact that your sick. But nice to know someone out there has a lot of the same issues as me. Thanks for the recipes I sure will try them.

    1. Any cookie with peanut butter is on my favorite list! I’m sorry to hear that you are so ill and I hate the fact that you’re sick as well. It’s extremely hard going through all that you have and sometimes it’s unbearable that it just keeps happening over and over again. I’ve been well for a year now and I hope that you also heal and get stronger as soon as possible! I’ll be thinking of you and sending positive thoughts your way Patti!

  5. 5 stars
    These little bites of deliciousness are so pretty! I love that you mix different flavors of chips for the chocolate coating. What a yummy treat!

    1. Glad to meet a fellow Ritz Cracker cookie maker! I’m always trying to figure out where some recipes come from. My mom got the recipe from her mom but before that I don’t know. Was your’s passed down or something you just threw together one day?

  6. This cookies were amazing!! Basically a homemade Peanut Butter Sandwich (the girl scout cookie).

    I’d love to know if anyone had a good dipping technique that didn’t involve fingers covered with chocolate :0

    1. I melt my chocolate in a electric fry pan on low and I use a salad fork with large tines and a dinner fork. I drop the cookie into a pile if melted chocolate that is in the fry pan and fish it out with the salad fork, then I tap it several times on the side of the pan to get extra chocolate off. Then I use the other fork and slide it off onto wax paper.

  7. These cookies look amazing — and your photography is terrific! Was wondering if you use Tailwind — because I am starting a new tribe called CHRISTMAS COOKIES and I’d love for you to participate! If you’re interested, send me an e-mail and I’ll invite you! Thanks — these cookies are going on my MUST TRY list this year!

    1. Thanks Cheyanne! And we always include them in our cookie plates that we give to our neighbors and friends. Little tip though-wrap them separately because if you don’t everything will taste like peppermint.

  8. 5 stars
    oh my word.. these cookies look AMAZING! Peanut butter and chocolate anything are pretty much irresistible for me (I’ve actually banned most from my house because I CANNOT stop eating them hahaha). So I’m confident I could eat a bazillion of these!
    And yay for yoga! That’s probably one of the best workouts if you’re still feeling fragile– I love it!

    1. Thank you! Yes, peanut butter and chocolate is a little too addicting sometimes. I snack on these WAY too much. And yoga is the best-I’m so happy I’m doing it again.

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