Ritz crackers, peanut butter, and chocolate make these the ultimate sweet and salty Christmas cookie. I ate these every year growing up, so I made a completely homemade version! Even the crackers in this cookie are made from scratch, and they taste even better than store-bought. The homemade Ritz crackers are filled with a creamy peanut butter filling, dipped in chocolate, and sprinkled with flaky salt. In my version, I used no refined sugar—this is one treat where you won’t miss it! The rich flavors speak for themselves without needing to be overly sweet.
How to Make Chocolate Covered Ritz Cracker Cookies
Making homemade Ritz crackers is actually remarkably easy; and you probably have all the ingredients already. I prefer to make things homemade when possible for a less processed final product, and this is one case where it’s easier than you’d think to do so. You make a quick dough with flour, baking powder, salt, butter, and water, then chill it for a few hours. Cut out adorable circle crackers and poke holes in them to mimic Ritz, then bake them until they’re golden and crispy.
The filling couldn’t be easier; just mix natural peanut butter with maple syrup and chill it. Melt some chocolate with coconut oil in the microwave, coat the peanut butter sandwich crackers, and let the chocolate set up. I finish mine with flaky sea salt.
No-Bake Version
The crackers really are so easy to make at home, but they will require baking. If you want to avoid turning on the oven, you can make even easier no-bake peanut butter chocolate Ritz cracker Christmas cookies by using store-bought Ritz. This filling recipe and the chocolate coating will be just as good in that version.
Bake Notes
- If you don’t have bread flour, use 2 cups of all-purpose flour; the crackers will be totally fine.
- If your kitchen is relatively cool, you can keep them in an air-tight container on the counter. If they start to melt, keep them in the fridge or freezer (put a paper towel in the container to prevent the chocolate from sweating!).
- You can choose how big to make the crackers based on personal preference or the cookie cutters you have available.
- Natural peanut butter is more runny than the stuff with additives, so make sure to chill it for a few hours before you use it for this recipe.
- You can use whatever type of chocolate you want for the coating. I used bittersweet and sweetened it with a bit of maple syrup. If you’re using anything sweeter (semi-sweet, dark, or milk) omit the extra sweetener.
Chocolate Covered Ritz Cracker Peanut Butter Cookies
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 25 cookies 1x
Description
These homemade chocolate covered Ritz crackers are filled with a creamy peanut butter filling and dipped in chocolate for the ultimate sweet and salty Christmas cookie. Who knew Ritz crackers were so easy to make at home?
Ingredients
For the Crackers
- 1 cup bread flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar or 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 8 tbsp (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 1/2 cup cold water, more as needed
- 1 egg, beaten
- Kosher salt, for sprinkling
For the Peanut Butter Filling
- 3/4 cup natural peanut butter (unsweetened), chilled
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
For the Chocolate Coating
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 tsbp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- Flaky salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the bread flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
- Add the cubed butter and use your fingertips to gently work the butter into the flour by squeezing the pieces and breaking them apart while mixing them throughout the flour mixture. Aim for the mixture to form pea-sized clumps.
- Add 1/2 cup of cold water to the mixture. Repeatedly toss the mixture with your hands and press down on it until it forms a shaggy dough. It’s okay if there’s some loose flour in the bottom of the bowl.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Press it all together as best you can. Divide the dough in half and flatten each half into a disc shape. Wrap each disc with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface.
- Roll the dough out until it’s about 1/8-inch thin. Use a small circle cookie cutter to cut your crackers out.
- Place the crackers on a parchment-lined baking sheet. They don’t spread, so you can place them pretty close together.
- Brush each cracker with the beaten egg (egg wash). Sprinkle the crackers with salt.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, until they are golden brown. If baking in batches, store the rest of the dough in the fridge while the first batch cooks so that it stays cold.
- Meanwhile, mix the peanut butter and maple syrup together in a small bowl. Keep it in the fridge.
- Combine the chocolate and coconut oil in a small bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until the mixture is melted and smooth.
- Add the maple syrup and stir to combine.
- Once the crackers have cooled completely, spread a layer of the peanut butter filling on one, then top with another cracker to make a sandwich. Repeat with remaining crackers and filling.
- Coat each sandwich in the chocolate mixture by dropping it in the bowl and tossing it around with a fork.
- Place the coated cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet sprinkle them with flaky sea salt. Allow the chocolate to set. If your kitchen is too warm, toss them in the freezer to speed up the process.
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 15 minutes