Magic in the Middle Cookies

From the King Aurthur Flour site
(But they really do look like this!)

She first made these cookies years and years ago when she was given a King Aurthur Flour cookbook for Christmas. She remembered them being good but for some reason never made them again...until last week. She promised a work colleague cookies so she got online and found the recipe on the King Author Flour website.

Lots of work but delicious and amazes everyone! Her tip to you - next time wait to make these until you have a dough rolling buddy!


Here is the recipe in grams. If you want it in ounces or by volume, visit the recipe online.

Cooke dough:
177 g flour
43 g cocoa powder or unsweetened baking cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
14 tsp salt
99 g sugar (plus some extra for later)
106 g brown sugar
113 g butter (1 stick)
67 g smooth peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg

Filling:
202 g peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)
85 g powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).

First make the dough. Beat together the sugars, butter, peanut butter, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg and beat again.

Next add the flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, and cocoa. Stir together until well blended.










Set aside the dough and next make the peanut butter filling by mixing together the peanut butter and powder sugar.







Flour your hands and roll the peanut butter filling into about 26 one-inch balls (26 must be the perfect number because she made about 30 and had to throw away the last four because she had run out of dough). Set the balls aside and pour some sugar onto a plate or into shallow bowl.










Take about one tablespoon of dough (about walnut size) and make an indentation with your thumb.

Cookie ball with PB

 


Add one ball of peanut butter filling to the indentation and work the chocolate outside around the peanut butter ball.

Roll in your hands until the peanut butter is completely covered and the dough is a nice ball. Roll in the sugar and place on a lightly greased or parchment paper covered tray.







Once all balls are formed and have been rolled in sugar, flatten the cookies with the bottom of a glass or the palm of your hand until they are about 1/2 inch thick.

See what happens if you are not careful?

If you were careful about covering the peanut butter with the chocolate dough no peanut butter should show through.

Bake for seven to nine minutes or until set and they smell chocolatey.

Let cool on a rack and enjoy!

Forgot to take a picture until the next day at work - not very good :(

These cookies are not very sweet on the outside which makes the peanut butter a perfect match. The peanut butter also offers an unexpected surprise when people bit into them!