Magic in the Middle Cookies

Growing up my mom had many catch phrases. One of her favorite was "What do I look like? A short order chef?" This comment always came after my sister and I would whine about not liking dinner and wanting her to make us something different. I never understood the saying... but now I do. And low and behold, I am becoming a short order chef. But not for children... for grown ups. John's coworkers eat almost as much of my food as John and I do. Anything you see here on this blog that is baked is sent to work with John. Slowly his coworkers started making requests, ranging from simple to crazy complex. One of these requests was "anything peanut butter and chocolate. But sugary peanut butter." Hmmm... easy enough. Especially since I love that combo myself.

I whipped these up the other night and they came out great. John said they were one of the biggest hits at work. The cookies were so soft. My only recommendation would be to make sure you flatten them out well with the glass because I forgot this step (it was 10 at night, cut me some slack!) and my peanut butter didn't spread throughout the cookie. That's ok- they were still awesome- but would be even better if the peanut butter was an even layer throughout the cookie. I will say these are much more time consuming then typical drop cookies but are very good and worth the effort.


Source: King Arthur Flour

Chocolate Dough
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus extra for dredging)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg

Peanut butter filling
3/4 cup peanut butter, crunchy or smooth, your choice
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

2. To make the dough: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

3. In another medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the sugars, butter, and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the egg, beating to combine, then

4. stir in the dry ingredients, blending well.

5. To make the filling: In a small bowl, stir together the peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar until smooth.

6. With floured hands or a teaspoon scoop, roll the filling into 26 one-inch balls.

7. To shape the cookies: Scoop 1 tablespoon of the dough (a lump about the size of a walnut), make an indentation in the center with your finger and place one of the peanut butter balls into the indentation.

8. Bring the cookie dough up and over the filling, pressing the edges together cover the center;

9. roll the cookie in the palms of your hand to smooth it out. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

10. Roll each rounded cookie in granulated sugar, and place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.

11. Grease the bottom of a drinking glass, and use it to flatten each cookie to about 1/2-inch thick.

12. Bake the cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, or until they're set and you can smell chocolate. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.