When is a cookie, not just a cookie? You wouldn’t know it from looking at them, but these cookies are stuffed with liquid gold.

Imagine the perfect chocolate chip cookie, laced with peanut butter and speckled with mini chocolate chips. Now imagine that perfect cookie stuffed with a dark chocolate peanut butter cup.

I know, right?

Slyly devoured fresh out of the oven, a smirk of sweet molten peanut butter in the corners of your mouth the only clue as to why there are is one less cookie on the platter than there was before. I am not deterred by the mess, as smudges of chocolate and peanut butter are, to me, a physical portrayal of pure bliss, a tell-tale sign of happiness lingering on my fingers.

Don’t get me wrong, these cookies are fabulous in their own right. The ‘plain’ ones (I ran out of peanut butter cups part way through) were gone just as quickly as the stuffed ones. Although, that may be because no one could tell the difference. Still, my feeling is, if you can stuff, why wouldn’t you stuff, if it it makes them that much more alluring?

My original intention, to stuff these with Hershey’s caramel kisses, wasn’t as perfect in reality as it was in my mind. The caramel did it’s best to escape its doughy prison, oozing out onto the baking sheets in bubbling puddles. Luckily though, with the non-stick prowess of the Silpats, after cooling for about 10 minutes the cookies easily released, the excess caramel broken off, and the cookie could still be enjoyed (and believe me, they were enjoyed).

Be sure to let the cookies cool sufficiently on the cookie sheets before transferring them to the wire rack. Like the caramel, even the molten peanut butter will try to escape through the lacy brown bottom of the cookie if you’re not careful. Letting them cool for at least 10 minutes on the cookie sheet will seal in the filling to be fully enjoyed later, rather than left behind on the pan or dripping out the bottom of the rack. Patience, my dear, is a delicious virtue.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Stuffed Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Total Time: 1 hour

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Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
• 36 dark chocolate peanut butter cups

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, heat butter and peanut butter until melted; stir until smooth and let cool.
3. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, stir the melted butter and peanut butter together with sugars until it forms a thick paste. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir until incorporated. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until it comes together, using your hands if necessary. The dough may seem crumbly at first but should come together eventually. Mix in chocolate chips.
5. Scoop dough by the heaping tablespoon (a medium cookie scoop is the perfect portion size). Split and slightly flatten one half in your palm. Place peanut butter cup on top and then smoosh remaining dough around so it is completely encased in dough. Arrange on prepared baking sheets, leaving about two inches of space between cookies.
6. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until centers are set and edges are light golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes (or longer) on baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cookie base adapted from How Sweet It Is.

All images and text ©Lindsay Landis / Love & Olive Oil

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