Taste The Holiday Magic: Reese's New Peanut Butter Sugar Cookie Cups Slay The Sweetness

I'm fully leaning into the candypocalypse this holiday season. And just in time for stocking stuffing, cookie baking, gifting, treating, and snacking, Hershey's makes its sweetest move yet with the Reese's peanut butter sugar cookie cup launch. (If you read "lunch," you need a snack.)

I like to think I was primed for this review since I grew up just 30 minutes from Hershey's Chocolate World in Hershey, Pennsylvania; a chocolate-lover's fever dream (the real life version of another chocolate factory from the movies) where the conglomerate confectionery reveals how Reese's are crafted by magical elves and the streets actually smell like chocolate. I also really love peanut butter, and the ultra sweet version you find in Reese's treats is just about as triggering as you can get for anyone who's easily swayed by a nut butter with a sense of occasion. (Ever tried Reese's peanut butter cups in s'mores? You'll never go back to non-peanut butter chocolate again.) But this type of fandom is a well-known phenomenon. 

This is just one part of a Hershey's Christmas drop that also includes Reese's cups shaped like snowmen and evergreen trees; Hershey's Kisses styled with Grinch foil or stuffed with sugar cookie, hot cocoa, mint truffle, and cherry cordial — and the return of Twizzlers Merry Berry punch and strawberry trees. But I'm confident that I'm tasting the brand's highest achievement. No offense to nostalgic holiday stories involving sugar-plums, but one bite of this combo and you'll have visions of Reese's peanut butter sugar cookie cups dancing in your head.

There may be no greater combination than peanut butter and chocolate desserts, candy, and snacks. Considering the wide variety of seasonal treats on the table this time of year — like spicy holiday gingerbread, Moravian cookies, or whimsical snickerdoodle cookies — Reese's makes a classic statement by going with the crowd-pleasing sugar cookie; a simple blend of butter, eggs, leavener, flour, and of course, sugar. It's the perfect sort of nondescript cookie to be granted access to the holy grail peanut butter cup.

Over the near century since its first iteration, Reese's has experimented with adding all kinds of crunch to the indulgently creamy PB cup. There have been peanuts, potato chips, crunchy chocolate cookie bits that seem a lot like the outsides of off-brand shmOreos, plus Reese's pieces and Reese's Puffs cereal stuffed inside. But you can call off the crunchy search at sugar cookies. The buttery, crumbly, slightly soft bits of cookie that you bite into at the bottom of the cup offer a pleasant contrast in texture — and it amplifies the host flavor combo without stealing the show. If you've ever tasted a dessert like peanut butter and chocolate shortbread bars (or even buckeyes candy with a crunchy filling) you'll understand that this throwback take wasn't pulled completely out of thin air. Maybe it's that little bit of extra holiday magic that makes it feel like it was always meant to be.

While holiday calories don't count (wink-wink!) Reese's dutifully packaged these treats with a proper nutrition label. Just ignore the innocent looking reindeer sugar cookie character on the package who seems to say this treat is only for kids. Or, ya know, reindeer.

The Reese's sugar cookie Big Cup packs 180 calories in every single-cup serving. That includes 10 grams of fat, 22 grams of carbs, and 17 grams of added sugar. (Shout-out to the 4 grams of protein.) Over on team minis, a 4-piece serving dishes up 170 calories, 9 grams of fat, 21 grams of carbs, and 17 grams of added sugar. Perhaps the 3 grams of protein mean there is a little more chocolate coating (and a little less peanut butter) per cubic inch of deliciousness. Those with allergies to peanuts, milk, soy, and gluten may want to celebrate the season elsewhere in the candy aisle. No matter which cup size you're looking at (regular, king, or miniature), Reese's peanut butter sugar cookie cups are designed to satisfy a serious sweet tooth.

If holiday cookies have a shelf-life, Reese's peanut butter sugar cookie cups may be on track to disappear in the blink of an eye. (And that's not just because they'll be the first of your secret candy stash to be gobbled up.) Unlike other brand launches that might be harder to get your hands on, these limited edition Reese's cups make themselves readily available by popping up everywhere from Amazon to Target, Walmart, and CVS. (They may have even snuck into your shopping bag already.)

While there's no official declaration on when this seasonal drop will be pulled from the shelves, chances are it won't be around forever. Beyond Christmas and the New Year, fans can probably expect this Reese's flavor to stick around through Hanukkah, the last day of which falls on January 2, 2025. A little later than that, on January 6, 2025, many cultures celebrate Epiphany (also called Three Kings Day or Día de los Reyes) where festive treats are always invited to the party. While the Lunar New Year on January 29, 2025 might be pushing the limit on where winter holidays cross into sacred Valentine's candy territory, it's possible February could be the end of the line for Reese's peanut butter sugar cookie cups. Better jump on this sweet ride while it lasts.

In a world where more is most definitely more, size matters. And there's a difference in what you'll taste in a Reese's Big Cup versus the much smaller miniature size cup. If you're hoping for the most crunch, go with the mini cup. It's already set up to offer a perfect bite, and it delivers on that with nearly a third of its filling dedicated to sugar cookie crumbles.

On the flip side, a full size cup lends itself to a larger portion of creamy peanut butter filling. In theory, that would mean more sugar cookies, but in this case, it isn't so. My first bite left me wondering about whether I had gotten a rogue peanut butter cup that skirted the cookie stop at the factory, but I soon bit into a portion with more obvious crunch. This might be my one complaint about this formulation; that the cup sizes differ in their fillings at all, and that the bigger ones don't seem to have as much cookie involved in the situation. But, if you're hoping for mostly classic Reese's flavors with a touch of festive flair, the full sized cup will be the gift that keeps on giving.

For those of us who would pay to bathe in Hershey's chocolate, just about any offering from the brand is a gustatory dream come true. But Reese's peanut butter sugar cookie cups celebrate the season with an iconic, home-baked holiday flavor that I definitely recommend sampling while it lasts.

Bonus points to the brand for not phoning it in by just changing the shape of the candy — or, even worse for anyone jonesing for something new — only switching up the wrapper. Here, Reese's offers loyal fans a textural, creamy-crunchy experience that tastes as magical as the holiday itself. I also shared my Reese's haul with a friend and her 5-year-old son for their thoughts on my current candy crush. While the cookie bits don't seem to have enough bells and whistles for someone who dressed as a Pokémon character for Halloween (and may still be living off that sugar rush), my adult friend texted me her review: "Oh [shoot] these are so good." (Slightly edited for moms.)

If you're wondering whether you could dunk a Reese's peanut butter sugar cookie cup in a glass of cold milk or cup of hot cocoa — like an actual cookie — just look to the nearest crackling fire, watch the first flurries of a winter snow, or listen to the soft jingle of sleigh bells and ask yourself, "What am I waiting for?"