Magic in the Middle Cookies

Dense,  moist chocolate cookies with a creamy peanut butter center.

These are my son’s very favorite cookies. He begs me to make them for him and so yes, we’ve made them many times. I’ve meant to blog them several times, but never quite got around to it. We often make a double batch. Did I mention my son is BIG? He is taller than his dad (who is tall!), with big wide shoulders and an appetite to match.

Well I have decided it is time to get these on my blog. My kids are both getting to the point where they can cook for themselves and when they ask me for a recipe, I tell them to go look it up on my blog. That is, after all, one of the main reasons why I started this blog! It’s kind of hard to do that when the recipe isn’t there!

You may have seen these chocolate peanut butter cookies out and about on the internet … they are a popular cookie. I am not sure but I think King Arthur Flour first published them … I found my recipe on Six Sister’s Stuff. The sisters add a little more egg to the recipe which makes the chocolate dough a little moister and easier to handle. I use egg white instead of egg yolk, and usually I substitute white whole wheat flour for half of the flour. I also cut down the amount of powdered sugar in the filling to give it more of that real peanut butter taste. Still, these decadent cookies are far from health food. But that’s okay … sometimes you just need a good cookie. You can make up the dough and the filling and keep it in the fridge and make them a few at a time. (I have often done that to keep my son from eating too many at once!) I also skip rolling the cookies in sugar … you can do that if you like. I just don’t think it’s necessary.

Magic in the Middle Cookies

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: About 26 cookies 1x

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Ingredients

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For the Chocolate Dough:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg plus 1 large egg white
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Peanut butter filling:

• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray your cookie sheets with cooking spray.
2. First, make the dough: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream the sugars, butter, and peanut butter together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the egg and stir until combined, then stir in the dry ingredients until everything is mixed well.
3. Now, make the filling: In a small bowl, stir together the peanut butter and confectioners sugar until smooth. At this point it’s a good idea to stick the filling into the freezer for 30 minutes or so to get it good and chilled. It is easier to assemble the cookies if the filling is good and cold.
4. You can use a melon baller or just scoop up a lil spoonful of filling for each cookie. (The sisters say to roll the filling into 26 one-inch balls. I don’t bother to do that; I just scoop up a bit of filling as I go.)
5. To shape the cookies: Take a spoonful of the dough (about the size of a walnut) and roll it into a ball, then press your finger down the center to make and indentation and form it into sort of a cup-shape in your hand. Put a little scoop of the filling into the cup and close up the chocolate dough around it.
6. Set the cookie on the baking sheet and smush it down a little with your hand to flatten it a bit.
7. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling, leaving about 2 inches in between your cookies. If you end up with leftover dough, either bake them as plain chocolate cookies or add a few good quality chocolate chips for a double chocolate treat. (That’s how I really prefer these cookies!)
8. Bake the cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, or until they spring back when you lightly touch the top of the cookie.
9. Let them cool a bit before eating (if you can stand the suspense!)

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This recipe was shared at Wednesday Extravaganza, Tasty Thursday, Foodie Friends Friday Cookie Party, Show & Tell Saturday and Mop it Up Monday.