Ingredients

3/4 cup butter softened (1 and 1/2 sticks)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar packed
1 cup peanut butter don't use natural pb
1 large egg
1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
16 ounces butterfinger chopped, see note*

Instructions

In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat 3/4 cup softened butter (this is 1 and 1/2 sticks) until it is smooth and creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl.
Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar. Beat well for about 2 minutes until it is fluffy, scraping the sides. There should be no chunks of butter.
Add 1 cup peanut butter. I like Jif best. And I love my adjustable measuring cup for this job, it's so much easier!
Add 1 egg and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.
Add 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, making sure you spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level off. Add the flour to the bowl, but don't stir it in yet. Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt on top of the flour. Stir it in with your teaspoon to combine the dry ingredients together a bit, making sure to break up any clumps.
Turn the mixer on to combine the dry ingredients into the dough. Don't overdo it! Once the dough barely starts to come together (with some flour still visible), stop and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. (Over mixing cookie dough results in tough cookies.)
Add 16 ounces of chopped butterfingers and mix in until just barely incorporated. You can use 2 (8-ounce) bags of "Butterfinger Bits" (found in the baking aisle), but this is kind of a rare find. See notes* for how many butterfingers to use if you can't find the Bits. See photos for the level of coarseness we're going for, if you're chopping.
Cover the bowl and chill the dough for 15 minutes to an hour.** (Or up to 24 hours!) Try not to eat it all. I think this is some of my favorite cookie dough EVER, no lie. It is peanut buttery crispity perfection.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Shape the dough into 2 inch balls. I used this cookie scoop and seriously overpacked it.
Place on a baking sheet at least an inch or two apart from each other. I added 12 cookies to a 12×18 inch half baking sheet.
Bake the cookies at 350 for about 10 minutes.
The cookies are done baking when the edges are set. They should not be shiny in the middle. They will be very puffy, but should have spread a bit from their ball-shape. If they have not spread much, use your spatula to gently press on the top of each cookie to flatten them a bit. Do this after you take them out of the oven, or even 2 minutes before they are done. Top each cookie with more butterfinger crumbles, if you have any left.
Let the cookies set up on the pan for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Strange note: I do not love eating these cookies warm. (Besides Sugar cookies, I think this is a first for me!) The butterfinger melts in the oven and I don't love the chewy texture. I prefer to wait until they are approaching room temperature before eating.
This recipe makes about 25 cookies. Store leftovers in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days.
The dough freezes very well. Place cookie dough balls in a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake on a pan straight from frozen (as directed plus another minute or two), and be prepared to press down on them with your spatula after baking to help them spread.
You can also freeze the baked cookies in a sealed container up to 4 weeks. Let thaw at room temp, sealed.
Notes
*You need 16 ounces of crushed butterfinger for these cookies. This is:
Two (8-ounce) bags of Butterfinger Bits (found in baking aisle)
24 "fun size" Butterfingers (each fun size is about 0.8 oz)
8 full size Butterfingers (each full size is about 1.9 oz)
The bag of Butterfinger Bits and the regular candy bars have the EXACT same ingredient list. I bet you 10 bucks they just crush them up in the factory and throw it in a bag with no other changes. Which we can certainly do on our own!
**Usually when I tell you to chill the dough on a cookie recipe, it's absolutely essential. But you can bend the rules on this recipe. I like to give it at least a 15 minute chill to help the flavors develop and make the dough easier to work with (it's quite soft). But you can skip the chill completely if you want, the cookies will bake up just fine!

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