Kitchen Little Essentials
For this Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Sugar Cookies recipe, you will need:
I have been making these Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Sugar Cookies for such a long time. 12 years maybe? That seems long to me. But the thing is – I used to make them from a store-bought chocolate cookie dough. That’s an okay method, if you’re really aiming for maximum speed. But today, we’re going to mix together the perfect chocolate sugar cookie dough from scratch, and use that instead.
The flavor difference is significant, and now I simply can’t go back. Sure, there is something to be said about the convenience afforded by some store-bought products. But sometimes scratch is just where it’s at. Today, we’re all about the scratch cookies.
The inspiration for these peanut butter filled chocolate sugar cookies came from a winning entry to the Great Pillsbury Baking Contest, from well … at least 12 years ago. I entered the contest guys. It’s a thing I used to do all the time, entering recipe contests. I’d get rather bored in my cubicle at the job I had at the time, and at one point I started entering recipes into contests. I’d do it constantly, and full disclosure – sometimes I’d enter recipes without ever even making them.
I know, that’s a strange move but would you believe me if I told you that I won $1,000 in one of the contests? You should, because it’s true.
But it was a cheese contest, not a cookie one. Anyway, I’m digressing now. These Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Sugar Cookies would have won that big ole’ Pillsbury contest, I’d like to believe, edging out the recipe that actually did win the $1,000,000 grand prize. Why would they have won? Because the recipe that did win used a log of store-bought chocolate sugar cookie dough (which was actually the point of the contest so okay fine), and we’re whipping up our cookies from real-deal ingredients.
FROM SCRATCH.
By combining some flour, cocoa powder, a few baking staples, melted butter, and caramel-esque brown sugar, we’ll build a really deeply flavorful sugar cookie here … and then stuff them all with a sweet peanut butter cream.
How to Make these Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Sugar Cookies
The biggest question you might have upon looking at these cookies probably revolves around the actual stuffing of the things. At first blush, it might seem tricky – maybe too tricky. But trust me, it’s not. If it were even remotely challenging or fussy, I wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole.
To get the peanut butter in the middles of these cookies, we’ll simply combine some creamy peanut butter with a generous heap of powdered sugar, creating a very stuff, thick peanut butter that you can actually roll into balls and then place on flattened pieces of sugar cookie dough.
We’ll then pinch together the edges of the dough, sealing the peanut butter inside (like you would do with a dumpling) and then roll it all back into a big ball. Bake as you would any other cookie and BOOM. You’re ready to roll with the most fun, magically middled cookies ever.
This is a favorite of mine, clearly, and I hope you guys enjoy them as much as we do in my house.
If you like the looks of these Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Sugar Cookies, you might want to check out:
Salted Toffee Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Salty Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cookie Skillet
Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Sugar Cookies
My favorite chocolate sugar cookie, filled with sweet peanut butter cream and rolled in sparkling sugar. FYI: the scaling function on these recipe cards isn’t working reliably now, so I’d avoid using it.Â
- Yield: 10 cookies 1x
Ingredients
1.5 cups + 2 TBSP all-purpose flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
14 TBSP butter, melted
1 ¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg + 1 yolk
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
5 to 6 TBSP confectioner’s sugar
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Granulated sugar, for rolling (about 2/3 cup)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Cover two large baking sheets with parchment paper or just spray with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until very well mixed. In a second bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, egg, and yolk. Using a handheld mixer or a whisk, mix the butter/sugar mixture for 3 to 5 minutes, until light brown and well-creamed. Add to the dry mixture and stir to combine – don’t over mix.Â
- In a small bowl, stir together the peanut butter and confectioner’s sugar. You’re looking for a consistency that is thick enough for you to pinch off and roll into balls. So, just add enough sugar to get to that point (if 5 TBSP isn’t enough).
- Scoop out your cookies. Each should be 2 TBSP worth of dough. Roll them into balls. Using your palm, flatten the dough balls (see photo in post if you’d like a visual for this part).Â
- Roll balls of the peanut butter mixture, abut 1.5 tsp worth, and place in the center of each flattened piece of cookie dough. Pinch the edges of the dough up and over the peanut butter balls in the center, enclosing it, and continue to pinch and work/roll the dough until you have a round ball again, and the peanut butter is fully inside. Roll each cookie in some granulated sugar and place on your prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until crinkled and cooked through. They will flatten out some as they cool, and will continue to crinkle.Â
