When I went to college in Lexington, KY, there was a bakery that me and some church friends always went to one Saturday morning a month. We would grab a coffee and a freshly glazed donut and across the street from this bakery was a JIF peanut butter factory. In the Spring when it started to warm up, the scent of freshly roasted peanuts would permeate the air outside the bakery. When we left the small bakery to make space for the other people who were waiting in a mile long line to secure a donut before they sold out for the day, the smell of those peanuts immediately met our noses. Just a few seconds later, we’d always be biting into one of those freshly glazed donuts, the glaze cracking like glass.
Those were some of the best times of my life, and every time the warm Spring breezes start, I get a craving for peanut butter and donuts. This April, I’m using those memories to fuel the cookie of the month: Peanut Butter Stuffed Double Chocolate Cookies. These cookies are rich, fudgy, and topped with a (not-so-glass-like) peanut butter glaze that transport me back to better times.
Ingredients
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter and another tablespoon for the glaze
- ¼ cup powdered sugar and another ½ cup for the glaze
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 ¼ cup (250 g) brown sugar, firmly packed
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature preferred
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup chocolate chips and another ½ cup for topping cookies after they get out of the oven
Instructions
- Begin with making peanut butter filling by mixing peanut butter and powdered sugar. Take 2 tablespoons of mixture and roll them into balls to place on plate lined with parchment paper. Place this plate in the freezer for at least 2 hours. For me, this made 9 peanut butter balls.
- Combine softened butter and sugars in a bowl. Mix on low to medium speed with an electric mixer. Then add eggs and vanilla extract; mix for a few seconds with electric mixer.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. When combined, add about a quarter of the mixture at a time and mix with electric mixer on low speed for 30-60 seconds.
- Fold in chocolate chips. Place the mixture in the fridge for at least an hour and preferably overnight.
- When ready to make the cookies, preheat oven to 375 F. Take 1 tablespoon and make roughly 18 cookies. Save any leftover to make non-stuffed cookies; they’re still good and fudgy, especially with peanut butter glaze!
- For half of the cookies, press a peanut butter ball into the middle of the cookie. Take another cookie and put over the top, molding it with your hands to close it like a dumpling.
- Place cookies in the preheated oven and bake for 13 minutes. Once baked, take them out of the oven and gently press 10-15 chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies, careful not to break the surface. Let cool for at least 10 minutes.
- While the cookies are cooling, mix together remaining peanut butter and powdered sugar. Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until the glaze thickly runs off of a spoon. Take a spoonful at a time and drizzle over the top of the cookies. Let it set for a few minutes and enjoy!
Faith, Food and Pharmacy 