Chocolate Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies {Magic in the Middle}
Yield: 24Cookies
Prep Time: 35 minutesmins
Cook Time: 9 minutesmins
Total Time: 44 minutesmins
Ingredients
Chocolate Dough:
½cup(113g)salted butter, softened
¼cup(64g)creamy peanut butter
½cup(106g)granulated sugar (plus extra for dipping)
½cup(106g)lightly packed brown sugar
½teaspoonbaking soda
¼teaspoonsalt
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1large egg
1large egg yolk
1 ½cups(213g)all-purpose flour
½cup(43g)ounces natural unsweetened cocoa powder
Peanut butter filling:
¾cup(191g)peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
¾cup(86g)powdered sugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line half sheet pans with parchment paper.
For the chocolate cookie dough, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a handheld electric mixer and a medium bowl, beat together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt and mix until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the vanilla and the egg and egg yolk and mix well. Add the flour and cocoa powder and mix until no dry streaks remain and the dough is well combined.
For the peanut butter filling, in a medium bowl, mix the the peanut butter and confectioners sugar together until smooth (by hand or with an electric mixer).
Scoop about 2 tablespoons of the chocolate dough (I use a #40 cookie scoop) and flatten into a thick disc shape. Place a heaping teaspoon of the peanut butter filling (I use a #60 cookie scoop) in the center of the chocolate dough disc.
Bring the chocolate dough up and over the filling, pressing the edges together cover the center. See pictures in the post for a visual. Roll the cookie lightly in the palms of your hand to form a smooth cookie dough ball. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
Roll each rounded cookie in granulated sugar and place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.
Grease the bottom of a flat-bottomed glass and flatten each cookie to about 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick. Bake the cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, just until lightly set - you want them soft. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Freezing: these cookies freeze great. I let them cool completely and then stack in a double layer in a gallon size freezer ziploc bag.