Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter Filling

Mmmm, I really love these. I actually love all things that include peanut butter. I found this recipe on a blog called Liv Life. There are lots of other recipes on her blog that I'm interested in making. Anyway, this is a very good cookie recipe and they were super easy to make. I'll definitely make these babies again for some gathering in the near future. 


Bake time: 7-9 minutes


Ingredients

• 1/2 c white granulated sugar (plus more for rolling)
• 1/2 c packed brown sugar
• 1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
• 1 c creamy peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 c all purpose flour
• 1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 c powdered sugar

Feel free to skip past the picture demonstration to get straight to the listed directions.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Cream the white sugar, brown sugar, softened unsalted butter, and 1/4 cup of the peanut butter until light and fluffy.

Add the vanilla extract and egg to the bowl.  Mix until smooth.

Add the flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to the bowl. Mix until combined.

The batter will be stiff.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and remaining 3/4 cup of peanut butter. I did this with a fork because I didn't feel like washing my Kitchen Aid. Don't worry if the peanut butter mixture looks crumbly. It still works just fine.

To assemble the cookies, pinch around 1 tablespoon of cookie dough from the bowl and slightly flatten in your hand. Pinch a smaller piece of the peanut butter mixture and place in the center of the cookie dough. 

Wrap the cookie dough around the peanut butter center, pressing to seal. Roll the cookie to smooth it out.

Place the cookie in a bowl. Roll the cookie to coat with sugar, then place on the greased baking pan. Space the cookies at least 2 inches apart.

Use the bottom of a drinking glass to flatten each cookie to 1/2 inch thickness. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until set.

The cookies will crinkle once they are set. Remove from the oven and allow to sit in the pan for two minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Mix together white sugar, brown sugar, softened unsalted butter, and 1/4 c of the creamy peanut butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy.  Add the vanilla and egg to the bowl and mix to combine. Mix in the flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until smooth. Set dough aside.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the powdered sugar and remaining 3/4 c of peanut butter until smooth. Set aside
4. To assemble cookies, pinch off a tablespoon of cookie dough out of the bowl and flatten it a bit in your hand. Next break off a smaller piece of the peanut butter mixture and place it in the center of the flattened dough. Wrap the cookie dough around the peanut butter center, pressing to seal. Roll the cookie to smooth it out. Drop each cookie into a bowl of sugar and roll in the sugar to coat. 
5. Place each sugar coated cookie onto the greased pan, spacing 2 inches apart. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to flatten each cookie to 1/2 in thickness. Bake 7-9 minutes or until set. Cookies will crinkle when they are set. Remove cookies from the oven and allow to sit on baking pan for 2 minutes before transferring to wire rack.

Store the cookies in an airtight container. I place a couple of slices of bread in with the cookies to keep them soft. It works really well! The cookies steal all the moisture from the bread.