Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

I needed to make something for a friends house, it needed to be awesome, and I needed to have the ingredients beause I was too lazy to go to the supermarket.  Voila! I was led to this recipe which is definitely going to be repeated many times.  What’s great about them is that they are really easy, don’t take much time at all, but look like they are hard to make and take forever! Now, you need to make these because:

1. They are chocolate cookies stuffed with a creamy peanut butter mixture.

2. You probably already have the ingredients, and they are super easy.

3. THEY ARE CHOCOLATE COOKIES STUFFED WITH PEANUT BUTTER!

Now, let’s get started!

Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

For the Cookies:

1½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar (plus more for rolling)

½ cup light brown sugar (I didn’t have so I used dark brown)

¼ cup creamy peanut butter

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Filling:

¾ cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar (Recipe called for 3/4 cup, but I didn’t want it to be too sweet)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. With an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter, sugars and peanut butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and mix until combined.

4. In a separate medium bowl, mix together the peanut butter and powdered sugar for the filling until smooth.  Taste sweetness, and add more if you want.  I like adding less because then the peanut butter flavor really shines through, with a touch of saltiness that adds a lot to the cookie.

5. In a small bowl, put some extra granulated sugar for rolling the cookies.

6. Use a medium cookie scoop (or heaping tablespoon) of cookie dough and flatten it with your hands. Take about 1 teaspoon of the peanut butter filling (or a small cookie scoop) and place it in the center of the chocolate dough. Wrap the chocolate dough around the peanut butter center, pressing to seal.  I don’t have cookie scoops so used a tablespoon and a teaspoon.  Add a heaping teaspoon of peanut butter, I didn’t add enough and had a little filling left over. Roll the cookie into a ball and roll in the sugar. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Flatten each cookie slightly with the palm of your hand.

7. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.