Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Don't let the traditional round shape of these Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies fool you into thinking they are ordinary treats. With each bite, you'll realize that these creamy peanut butter fudge-filled chocolate cookies are really decadent desserts.

Chocolate and peanut butter are one of the most popular flavor combinations of all time and I am a huge fan. I could eat just about any dessert made with the two including these Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies. They are definitely a plain-looking dessert, but they have serious flavor and texture.

Take a bite of the crispy chocolate cookie and you'll find the smoothest, most amazing, peanut butter fudge filling inside. The filling is made using white and peanut butter chips along with creamy peanut butter. It melts in your mouth but the filling is firm enough that when you bite into the cookie it won't ooze out.

Video

Watch this video tutorial to see how to make these Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies then scroll down to find the recipe...

Instructions

• Start by making a chocolate cut-out cookie dough, roll it out, and cut it into circles then bake.
  • Dust a silicone mat and your rolling pin lightly with cocoa powder before rolling out the dough so that the dough won't stick.
  • Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut out your chocolate cookies. It's the perfect size for a sandwich cookie.
  • As you make your cuts, place the cutter as close to the previous cut, thereby getting as many circles cut out of one sheet of dough. Then re-roll the dough and cut more circles.
    • The more times you re-roll the dough, the more gluten will form in your cookies. If you re-roll too many times, your cookies can become a bit tough.
  • If you want your cut-out dough to hold its shape perfectly, remove the excess dough from around the cut-outs, then pop your silicone mat (set on a stiff surface like a baking sheet or cutting board) into the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
    • When you pull the silicone mat out of the freezer, you can simply peel the perfectly round cookies off and place them on a silicone mat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet in order to bake them.

NOTE: You might have noticed that the cookies in the pictures above have two different shades of brown. When developing the recipe for these chocolate peanut butter cookies I tried out two different cocoa powders.

Some of the chocolate cookies are distinctively darker in color and happened to taste a bit better too. Those cookies were made with special dark cocoa that contains a blend of natural and Dutch Processed cocoa. I really liked the pictures of the lighter cookies though so I wanted to share them too.

Peanut Butter Fudge Filling

• Melt white and peanut butter chips together then stir in salt and creamy peanut butter.
  • This will make the most amazing peanut butter fudge but will be very liquid at first.
  • Allow it to cool at room temperature, stirring it often, until it thickens to the consistency of frosting.
    • This process is a little bit finicky because you want the fudge filling at the perfect spreadable consistency. The longer this fudge sits, the firmer it will become.
    • If it gets too firm, you can warm it in the microwave on the low setting for 10 second bursts of power, stirring after each.
    • If you melt it too much, just allow it to cool again.
    • Do not refrigerate as the fudge will cool too quickly around the outer edge of the bowl and that will be difficult to stir into the more liquid center.
  • I made my fudge filling first then made my cookies. By the time the cookies were baked and cooled my peanut butter fudge filling was ready to pipe onto the cookies.
• Pipe or spread the fudge filling over one chocolate cookie and top with another cookie.
  • I personally love how these cookies look with a swirl of peanut butter filling piped onto them and found it easier to fill the sandwich cookies using this method, but you can spread it on if you prefer.

Recipe

5 from 8 votes

Print

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Prep Time

45 mins

Cook Time

12 mins

Total Time

57 mins

 

Chocolate sandwich cookies filled with creamy peanut butter fudge. 

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate peanut butter cookies

Servings: 30 sandwich cookies

Author: Beth Klosterboer

Ingredients

Creamy Peanut Butter Filling

• 8 ounces white chocolate chips (or white confectionery coating)
• 4 ounces peanut butter chips
• 8 ounces creamy peanut butter
• 1 pinch salt

Chocolate Cookies

• 10 tablespoons butter softened slightly
• ¾ cups granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 ¾ cup flour
• ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Creamy Peanut Butter Fudge Filling

1. Combine the white and peanut butter chips in a microwave safe mixing bowl.

2. Heat on high power, for 30 second increments, stirring after each until melted. 

3. Stir in the peanut butter and salt until well blended. 

4. Let cool at room temperature, stirring often, until the consistency of frosting. 

Chocolate Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2. Beat butter and sugar until creamy. 

3. Add vanilla and egg and beat to combine. 

4. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt then stir it into the wet ingredients just until combined.

5. Dust a silicone mat or cutting board with cocoa powder.

6. Roll dough out to ⅛th of an inch thickness. 

7. Cut 2 inch circles using a round cookie cutter. You should get about 60 circles out of one batch of dough.

8. Set dough circles on a silicone mat or parchment paper lined baking sheet. 

9. Refrigerate for 5 minutes then bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges look set and the top no longer looks wet. 

10. Allow the cookies to cool completely. 

Assemble Sandwich Cookies

1. Once the fudge filling is frosting consistency, you can pipe it or spread it on half of the cookies then top those with another cookie. 

Related Recipes

If you love peanut butter and chocolate together, you might also like these other yummy recipes.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pinwheels

Peanut Butter Fudge Filled Chocolate Hearts

Buckeye Bears

Buckeye Fudge

• Author
• Recent Posts

Beth Klosterboer

Hi, I'm Beth Klosterboer, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I love sharing recipes for happy occasions here on Hungry Happenings. I also create easy fudge recipes to share at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes at HowToMakeEasyCookies.com

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