The hardest part about food blogging is writing about food that’s long gone, dredging up feelings and flavors past and knowing that you’ve long since eaten the last one. Recalling the flavors and textures of a recent recipe, trying to transpose those sensory details into words, well, that’s a surefire way to get your mouth watering and your stomach grumbling. Especially something as decadent and delicious as a fudgy chocolate cookie.
Instead of sitting here stringing together words that could not possibly do justice to these amazing stuffed cookies, I wish I were downstairs in the kitchen baking some more right now (ok, if we’re being entirely honest it’s not even the baking that I’m craving, I just want to bite into one right now.)
Eating > Baking > Writing.
Sorry, but it’s true.
So you’ll forgive me if this post ends here, right?
Just kidding.
There’s a lot more to be said about these cookies. Somewhat plain-looking on the outside (although I’m never one to turn down even a plain chocolate cookie, sea salt or not), they’re far more than meets the eye, for these cookies have a sweet secret: they’re stuffed with peanut butter.
The filling is like a peanut butter cup, creamy peanut butter stabilized with a little powdered sugar. Fresh out of the oven it’s melty and gooey and out of this world delicious (and I definitely advise eating at least one while it’s still warm). Sure, you could stuff them with bite-sized peanut butter cups (like the regular chocolate chip version) and save yourself some time. Either way.
The trick to stuffing is to dollop out spoonfuls of the filling and freeze it first, that way it is firm enough to sandwich and encase inside the cookie dough. I found the best way to get the peanut butter inside the dough was by splitting the dough ball into two pieces, flattening and placing the frozen filling ball in the middle, then smashing the other half on top, sealing in the edges.
The best part about the peanut butter/chocolate combination is the play of sweet and salty that satisfies all my cravings at once (satisfacion efficiency, two for the price of one). And so I figured that a sprinkle of sea salt on top, you know, for good measure, couldn’t hurt. The finishing touch, if you will.
(Tip: if you want a few perfectly placed chocolate chips to show on your baked cookies, press a few onto the outside of the rolled cookie balls just before baking. Food stylist secrets, y’all.)
Peanut Butter-Stuffed Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients:
For Filling:
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt (increase to 1/4 teaspoon if using unsalted pb)
For Cookies:
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup dark or dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
- large flake salt (such as Maldon), for sprinkling
Directions:
- In a bowl, mix together peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until it forms a smooth paste. Dollop teaspoons (grape-sized balls) of filling mixture onto a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet. Freeze for at least 30 minutes or until firm enough to handle.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugars together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed until incorporated. Stir in mini chocolate chips.
- Scoop 1 1/2-inch balls of dough with a medium cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons per cookie). Split dough in half, and slightly flatten one half in the palm of your hand. Place one frozen filling ball into the center of the dough. Top with other half of dough ball and smush around frozen filling until well sealed. Roll into a smooth ball and place on prepared cookie sheet, leaving at least 2 inches of space between cookies to allow for spreading. If desired, sprinkle cookies with a pinch of flake sea salt just before baking. If you are baking in batches, returning tray of filling balls to freezer while one batch bakes so they stay firm.
- Bake cookies for 11 to 12 minutes or until centers are just set. Remove from oven and let cool on pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- Cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Did you make this recipe?
Let us know what you think!
Leave a Comment below or share a photo and tag me on Instagram with the hashtag #loveandoliveoil.
I made these and while good, they weren’t blow me away like the Cosmic Brownie ones. The center was fine, but I think it would be better if I made ganache with Peanut Butter Chips instead.
Thank you as always for the inspiration and beautiful recipes.
Can I use anything other then Dutch processed chocolate powder….I’d like to try milk chocolate or sweet ground cocoa powder from ghiradrdelli
The recipe is written for Dutch processed. Different kinds of cocoa powder will change the acidity, which will change the flavor/color and rise of the cookie so I cannot guarantee the results. Milk chocolate/sweet cocoa powders will have added sugar as well which will also affect the cookie, so I don’t recommend it.
Very tasty! It had a nice chewy texture
Incredibly difficult to work with
Definitely have the batter in the fridge for 30 mins If I weren’t in a hurry I’d have left in there for longer
I weighed each cookie batter, 40g then split to two to flatten, it yielded even after chilling for 30 mins Cookies that spread pretty well and looked nice Like the photos (not too solid or puffy neither was it too flat).
These were awesome! After my first batch came out looking like round lumpy potatoes, I flattened the others a little before baking which was much prettier! They didn’t spread out much in the oven at all!
This sounds really delcious. Gonna give this recipe a go. Tjhanks for sharing.
Simon
Hi, I tried making these today and the dough was so unbelievably sticky that it made molding the cookies together very difficult. Was your dough like this as well? I measured the flour correctly and had even chilled the cookie dough overnight. Also, like the comment above, I only got 16 cookies out of the batch and mine didn’t spread as much as yours. Any thoughts/suggestions?
Thanks!!
I agree….dough very difficult to work with. In oven now, and hoping taste as delicious as they look!
HI! So I tried making those today.. and they didn’t yield 2 dozen… In the end they really did 12 stuffed cookies. Is that what you meant? And also, I wasn’T able to achieve the flat lookind.. they were really big! I did 1tbsp per side (so 2 tbsp dough per cookie) and about 1 tsp for the filling. Was that correct? I don’t understand why they didn’t flatten in the oven.. any suggestions?
Thanks!
Thank you so much for this recipe – I brought these to a cookie swap where prizes were awarded for different categories of cookie, and I won “Best Use of Chocolate!” I will definitely be making them again (and will probably try the regular chocolate chip version soon too).
I am so glad you enjoyed them! I know they are “award winning” in my mind, but glad to know that others agree. :)
These look TOO good!
OMGGGG this looks sinfully delish!!!!!! =)
these look so heavenly!!! yumm
Wow those look like my kind of cookies! So thick and chocolaty, mmm :)
Hi Lindsay, double chocolate peanut butter stuffed cookies are just delicious. Thanks a lot for posting. :)
These cookies look amazing! Chocolate and peanut butter…what’s not to love?
These cookies look incredible, Lindsay! Chocolate + Peanut Butter = Perfection. And in a cookie?! Love. <3
I love chocolate with sea salt and when you put it in a cookie, it must be delicious.
The sight of this is very appetizing, wish I have one in my hands
I agree with eating>baking>writing. Sometimes I just don’t want to write anything at all and let the name and pictures draw people in, in ways that words cannot. I know I would rather be sitting in a corner with these cookies right now ;-)
A glass of cold milk and couple of cookies would be wonderful!
As soon as I saw this post, I knew I would be making these right away. They turned out amazing! I made 2 batches, one with peanut butter, and one with almond butter.
*drools* I wish you would magically show up at my house with a few of these.
For some reason I couldn’t manage to reply to your last post, but I haven’t tried making peanut butter. I’m not sure my food processor is powerful enough to get a smooth result, I will try sooner or later though! The cookies turned out to be SO good, the sprinkle of salt is perfect on top, I loved that. I tagged you on instragram if you want to see :3 https://instagram.com/p/2Rmt1pRJIu/
These look delicious!
Are they soft and chewy, or crunchy/crispy biscuits? Cheers
They are soft cookies, almost brownie-like. :)
These are in the oven right now, I can’t wait to try them! I’d been looking for a recipe to try with the peanut butter jar I’ve been eating slowly (you see, we don’t have peanut butter available where I live, unless you pay an awfully expensive price, so I bought a jar when I was in US in October). This promises to be totally worth it, omg, I’ll report back!
Have you ever tried making your own peanut butter? It’s awfully easy with a blender or food processor, and all you need are peanuts and a bit of salt. I don’t know how you made one jar last from October, I commend you on your restraint!
I literally have no words for how insanely delicious these cookies look (and sound), and I’m not even a cookie person! The peanut butter filling, the decadent chocolate cookies. My gosh.
Chocolate & peanut butter – one of my favorite combinations! These look amazing!!
Honestly, you could write nothing and just show me photos of these cookies and I would definitely get the point that they are AWESOME! Because PB + chocolate is always a win!
Stuffed cookies are so much fun compared to their normal ( but equally delicious) counterparts. Dark chocolate and sea salt is my current craze so these are divine!
I love stuffed cookies! The little bit of extra work always pays off when people bite into one and see the incredible middle. These look awesome!
I’ve been addicted to peanut butter + chocolate combination lately. But sea salt too??? That has to be my dream cookie!
This looks so delicious I wish I could eat one right now! It’s like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup in a cookie form. Pinned :)