Chocolate and Peanut Butter Love

I love peanut butter.  If a day goes by where I don’t have it, I experience withdrawal symptoms.  A few days without it? Don’t mess with me.

As much as I loved being in Italy for my honeymoon this summer, going without peanut butter for almost two weeks may have been enough to convince me that getting back to real life still kind of sucks isn’t so bad after all.

Oatmeal with peanut butter? Good.  Banana and peanut butter? Yum.  Ants on a log? Underrated children’s snack.  Chocolate and peanut butter? The pair should have its own show.

You may remember that my Thanksgiving with Friends featured eight desserts.  I enjoyed coming up with a fun and delicious variety of pick-up baked goods, but was stuck when it came to THE peanut butter and chocolate item.  You have seen my fan favorite cookie bar and the peanut butter brownies with chocolate ganache.  So have my friends.  Both items were a hit, so I knew when it came to my peanut butter loving friends, I was going to have to outdo myself.

Well, I did.  If you are human like peanut butter and chocolate, you are going to LOVE these.  The one upside to marrying a crazy wonderful man who DISLIKES peanut butter? More for me!

These Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter Filling start with a rich chewy cookie dough, used here, and are slathered with a creamy peanut butter filling that is irresistible.  Salty and sweet, chewy and creamy.  Oh, and these cookies are even good eaten right out of the freezer, not that I would know.  Have I mentioned my pants don’t fit?

Begin by making the cookies

Mix together the dry ingredients- flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, and set aside

Cream butter and sugar with a mixer

Beat until light and fluffy

Beat in the sugar, eggs and vanilla

Mix well

Gradually add your dry ingredients with mixer on low, then mix at medium speed until well-combined

Next up, milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips

Stir in the chips

Use a cookie dough scoop for the most uniform cookies

A tablespoon will also work; beware, the dough will be sticky when shaping into balls

Cookies will flatten while baking, that is expected

Let them cool on wire racks

While cookies are cooling, make your filling

Cream softened butter until light and smooth

Add peanut butter and cream some more

Beware of the incredible aroma

Mix in sugar

When mixture is smooth and creamy, it is done

Time to make your sandwiches

Slather a tablespoon or two onto the bottom of one cookie

Cover with another cookie and gently press down

Repeat

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Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter Filling

Cookie recipe from Hershey’s

Makes ~2 dozen cookie sandwiches

Cookie Ingredients:

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

Dash of salt

1 ¼ cup (2 ½ stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

2 cups granulated Sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Filling Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 3/4 cup salted natural creamy peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

Cookie Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375

Mix together the dry ingredients, except for sugar, and set aside

Cream butter and sugar

Beat in the, eggs and vanilla

Gradually add dry ingredients with mixer on low;  then mix at medium speed until well-combined

Stir in chocolate chips

Drop dough in heaping tablespoons on baking sheets lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart

Bake at 375 for 8 minutes or until cookies are slightly puffy

Let cool on cooling rack

Filling Directions:

Beat butter until light and creamy

Beat in peanut butter

Mix in confectioners sugar on low speed and then beat until light and fluffy

Sandwich Directions:

When cookies are cool, spread one to two tablespoons of filling on the bottom of a cookie

Top with a second cookie and lightly press down

Repeat

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Do you know anyone that can resist peanut butter and chocolate?