Peanut Butter and Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Super Bowl Sunday gave me the perfect opportunity to try a recipe from the Fine Cooking – Cookies book I received in my Christmas stocking. I went with the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Sandwich Cookies since the recipe seemed simple, I had all the ingredients on hand and the picture for them looked great!

For the peanut butter cookies:

• 2-1/2 cups smooth peanut butter, at room temperature (I had to use a cup of chunky peanut butter since I ran out of creamy peanut butter)
• 1-1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Tip: Substitute semisweet chocolate for the bittersweet in the filling for a sweeter kick.

For the chocolate filling:

• 10 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups) – I used two cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips since I have an economy bag of these from Costco.
• 4 oz. (8 Tbs.) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

Make the cookies:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350ºF.


2. Line four cookie sheets with parchment or nonstick baking liners.


3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer), beat the peanut butter, brown sugar, and baking soda on medium speed until well blended, about 1 minute. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix on low speed until just blended, about 25 seconds.


4. Shape level tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Arrange the balls 1-1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Do not press down. Bake one sheet at a time until the cookies are puffed and crackled but still moist-looking, about 11 minutes. (Only seven minutes in my oven). Transfer the cookie sheet to a rack to cool about 10 minutes. Using a spatula, move the cookies to the rack and let cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookies.

Make the filling:
Melt the chocolate and the butter in the microwave or in a medium heatproof bowl set in a skillet with 1 inch of barely simmering water, stirring with a rubber spatula until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside until cool and slightly thickened, 20 to 30 minutes.

Assemble the sandwiches:
Turn half of the cooled cookies over so they are flat side up. Spoon 2 tsp. of the chocolate filling onto the center of each cookie. Top with the remaining cookies, flat side down. Press gently on each cookie to spread the filling almost to the edge. Set on the rack until the filling is firm, 20 to 30 minutes.

These cookies took longer than I had originally anticipated since they each needed to be rolled out and squished down. They also exuded an alarming amount of oil but came out nice and moist in the finished product. I was always a little skeptical about using recipes without flour but these made a very tasty peanut butter cookie. I think the next time I make them, I’ll try adding a half cup of flour, omit the chocolate filling and add peanut butter chips. That should make the dough firm enough to use my cookie scoop with and give me an irresistible peanut butter cookie.

I almost forgot to mention that they did seem to be popular at Jeanne and Mike’s Super Bowl gathering and at work the next day.