Chocolate-Peanut-Butter Sandwich Cookies Recipe
Karen DeMasco is a James Beard Award-winning pastry chef and the author of The Craft of Baking. Below, she shares her recipe for chocolaty peanut butter sandwich cookies, which will be on the menu at Thursday’s second annual Chefs for Kids’ Cancer event in New York City. The event is the brainchild of Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a nonprofit that raises much-needed funds to help fight childhood cancer.
Photo courtesy of Cookies for Kids’ Cancer
Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies with Milk Chocolate Filling
Makes about 2 dozen
Cookies:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon lightly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
Filling:
6 ounces milk chocolate, roughly chopped
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup heavy cream
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and confectioners’ sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the peanut butter and beat to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the oil, vanilla, and egg and beat until just combined, about 20 seconds. Add the flour mixture, beating until just combined.
Roll the dough into balls about 1/2-inch in diameter between lightly floured palms and place them on baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake, rotating the sheets halfway through, until cookies are golden brown on the edges, about 12 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks to cool completely. The cookies can be stored, unfilled, for up to a week in an airtight container at room temperature.
To make the filling, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove the cream from the heat and pour over chocolate. Stir the mixture together with a spatula until the chocolate is completely melted. Chill over ice or in the refrigerator until filling has cooled to room temperature and is thick enough to spread. Use immediately or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week. Let come to room temperature before using.
Using an offset spatula, spread 1 teaspoon filling onto the flat sides of half of the cookies. Sandwich with the remaining cookies, keeping the flat sides down. Once filled, the cookies are best eaten the same day, but can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
More cookies that should be on your radar:
Chewy chocolate-orange cookies that just happen to be gluten-free
Salted white chocolate and pistachio cookies that are downright decadent
Famous French pâtisserie Ladurée’s heart-shaped macarons
What’s your go-to cookie recipe? Tell us below!
