Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Soft and chewy brownie cookies sandwiched around a buttery, creamy peanut butter filling.

Before I dive on in to these peanut butter chocolate sandwich cookies, I have a confession to make.

To be honest, it’s only relevant to these cookies in the most convoluted way, so if you want to scroll right on down to the recipe, I understand, these peanut butter beauties tucked into their dark chocolate blankets are enticing.

Six years ago I took a trip to Egypt, and I did something kind of creepy while I was there.

I bought a wedding gift for my husband.

Except, at the time he wasn’t my husband, he was my boyfriend of less than two years, and we’d never had any length of discussion about marriage.

But, during a day trip through Giza, my tour group took a brief pause at a small papyrus shop that flaunted beautiful, authentic sheets of woven papyrus, handpainted and intricately detailed with bright and shimmering golden paint.  They were gorgeous, their edges naturally uneven, the images on them like oases of painted jewels in a sea of sand.

The price tag was what you might expect for authentic hand painted papyrus, and while the rest of my caravan counted out their Egyptian currency, I didn’t think I would buy anything for myself.

Until I came across a painting depicting the marriage of Tutankhamen and his bride, a painting said to be the first love story in the world.  It’s beautifully illustrated and ripe with symbolism: the newlyweds exchange lotus flowers that are meant to be symbols of love and happiness and the papyrus itself symbolizes peace.  The painting is meant to be a blessing for a successful marriage and a happy union.

And, for some reason, I had to have it.  I couldn’t leave the store without buying it, and it seemed silly because I wasn’t married and had no plans to be, but I felt so strongly that I needed to buy it to someday hang on the walls of the house I just knew I would share with Zach.  Creepy, right?

And then, when I finally returned to the US I felt silly (and creepy, did I mention?) about buying a wedding gift for my boyfriend, especially considering that he couldn’t care less about Ancient Egypt and its culture, and so I wrapped it up and tucked it away in my cedar chest where it stayed for years.

Until just last week, actually.  When I finally told him that I had bought it (I figured that over a year into our marriage was too late for him to realize my creepiness and change his mind about being with me) and why I had bought it, and he didn’t seem to think it was silly or stupid (or creepy) at all.  Instead, he took it upon himself to carefully unscroll and air out the painting.  He spent days researching the proper way to mount papyrus for display, how to protect its paint from acids and what kind of glue is acceptable to use.  He picked out a frame and spent too many evenings carefully bent at the dining room table to make sure it’s done just right.

So now, 6 years after buying it, Tutankhamen’s wedding picture hangs in the living room of my house, right over the couch where Zach and I fold laundry and watch the Walking Dead and eat chocolate peanut butter cookie sandwiches together.

And it just warms my heart to its core.

And, not that I need an excuse to make sweets anymore, I hoped he might appreciate the simplest token of appreciation from me: dessert.

Cookies, more specifically.  Chocolate brownie cookie sandwiches, stuffed with peanut butter, dipped in dark chocolate, and dressed in sprinkles.

Which he did (so much that he polished off one as part of his breakfast before work on Monday), and I think you will, too (though I must advise that I don’t believe these count as part of a balanced breakfast).

These cookies were a hit with everyone who tried them.  They’re rich in flavor, like a Reese’s cup in cookie form, a coupling of two of the best flavors in the baking world.

I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as we did, and be sure to share them with someone you love.

Cookie sharing is never creepy.

5 from 2 votes

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Servings 21 sandwiches

Ingredients

Cookies

• 1/2 cup salted butter cut into Tbsp-sized pieces, 1 stick
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cups light brown sugar packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs + 1 yolk lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

Peanut Butter Filling

• 1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 4 Tbsp salted butter softened
• 1 1/2 cups 10x sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3-4 Tbsp milk

Optional Chocolate Shell

• 10 oz dark melting chocolate melted according to package instructions.
• chocolate sprinkles

Instructions

Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In large, micro-wave safe bowl, combine butter and chocolate chips. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir, repeating at 15 second increments until chocolate and butter are completely melted.
3. Remove from microwave and allow to cool 10 minutes before proceeding.
4. Once butter/chocolate mixture has cooled, stir in sugars, eggs and vanilla.
5. In separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
6. Gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture until completely combined.
7. Drop cookie dough by rounded 1½" scoop onto parchment paper, pressing down slightly. Bake 9-10 minutes, allow to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to cookie rack to cool completely.

Filling

1. In KitchenAid or with handmixer, cream together peanut butter and butter.
2. Gradually stir in powdered sugar until completely combined (be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl so all ingredients are well incorporated).
3. Stir in vanilla extract.
4. Add milk, one Tbsp at a time, until well-combined. Check the consistency at 3 Tbsp and if it is much too thick add the fourth Tbsp (conversely, if you make it too runny, you may add more powdered sugar).
5. Spread or pipe (I transferred the filling to a large Ziploc bag and snipped off a corner to pipe the filling on, be careful though because the filling is thick and could burst the bag) the filling onto the bottom of one of your cooled cookies. Sandwich with another evenly-sized cookie.
6. Once all cookies have been filled and paired, dip 1/3-1/2 of the way in your melted chocolate. Immediately sprinkle with chocolate jimmies, and allow to harden before enjoying.

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