Chocolate Peanut Butter goodness

So this week Brad and I had snack duty for our small group. For some people they may not think twice about this opportunity but for me, it gives me an excused to come up with something that I may not ordinarily make (since I am able to feed 8+ people instead of just 2). Anyway, I was trying to come up with something with some knock off Nutella that I bought (more about that later) and ended up coming up with the idea of stuffing a cookie somehow with this "Nutella". Perhaps even a chocolate cookie?

I started looking around the internet to see if I could come up with a basic stuffed cookie recipe and I came across this "Magic in the Middles" recipe from RecipeGirl. Now, to me, chocolate and peanut butter are always a winning combination but I had something even better in our pantry. I had Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter. That's right, chocolate flavored peanut butter. Needless to say, I decided to save my "Nutella" for something else and get to crackin' on making these cookies using my Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter because as much as I love that combination, this jar was just sitting on our shelves practically untouched.

Let me say, de-lish! Especially a couple minutes after coming out of the oven. They were soft with just the right balance of chocolate and peanut butter. I couldn't wait to take them to group. And guess what, they liked them! I know, I know. Big surprise ;o)

Alright, so do I have any side notes? The biggest thing I changed about this recipe was of course the type of peanut butter I used. Other than that, I pretty much stuck to what RecipeGirl had to say. Any other comments I can think of I'll post between some yellow parentheses as they come to me. Sound like a plan? Cool...Oh, and I apologize about the photos...My hands were sticky from the dough and I was in somewhat of a hurry.

Magic in the Middles
from RecipeGirl

DOUGH:
1½ cups (6¼ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup (1½ ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup (3½ ounces) granulated sugar (plus extra for dipping)
½ cup (4 ounces) brown sugar, packed
½ cup (4 ounces or 1 stick) unsalted butter
¼ cup (2 3/8 ounces) smooth peanut butter (I suggest you try Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg

FILLING:
¾ cup (7 1/8 ounces) smooth peanut butter (again, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter)
¾ cup (3 ounces) powdered sugar

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

2. Prepare dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In another medium bowl, beat together sugars, butter, and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg, beating to combine, then stir in dry ingredients, blending well.

3. Prepare filling: In a small bowl, stir together peanut butter and powdered sugar until smooth. (I actually decided to do this with the Kitchen Aid because me trying to mix it together myself just wasn't cutting it. Not only was it fast but the sugar incorporated with the peanut butter much better) With floured hands, roll the filling into 26 one-inch balls (When making chocolate cake/cookies, mix a bit of cocoa powder into your flour so that it blends in well with your baked goods. You wouldn't want streaks of white to mess up your presentation would you?).

4. Shape cookies: Break off about 1 Tbsp. of the dough, make an indentation in the center with your finger (I just flattened it like a pancake almost), and press one of the peanut butter balls into the indentation. Bring the dough up and over the filling, pressing it closed; roll the cookie in the palms of your hand to smooth it out. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. (I did use my Tablespoon to measure the dough out and let me tell you, I had just enough dough for all 26 of my peanut butter balls. RecipeGirl was spot on!)

5. Dip the top of each cookie in granulated sugar and place on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Grease the bottom of a drinking glass and use it to flatten each cookie to about ½-inch-thick.

6. Bake cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, until they’re set (They will come out quite soft but they will set up once they are cooled. You want to be very careful when making chocolate cookies since it is harder to tell if they are burning or not). Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack.

Yield: About 26 cookies