Peanut Butter Fudge Cookies
These peanut butter fudge cookies combine the best of three worlds - brownies, chocolate cookies, and peanut butter all wrapped into one decadent, chewy, stay-soft sandwich cookie!
Servings: 20 cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup butter, slightly softened (2 sticks)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs, beaten, room temp
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsweetened real cocoa powder
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
For the Filling:
- 1 cup salted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter, room temperature
- 3 ¾ cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F with rack on lower middle position. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and cocoa.
- In another large bowl or the bowl of stand mixer, combine butter, both sugars, and vanilla. Beat on medium-high until it's as fluffy as it can get, scraping sides down periodically; about 3-4 minutes. Add beaten eggs and beat just to combine.
- Using rubber spatula, gently fold flour mixture into butter mixture just until batter is completely moistened. Fold in milk chocolate chips.
- Wrap and chill dough until firm enough to handle, about 30 min to 1 hour.
- Form dough into 1 1/4-inch balls and flatten slightly, as these tend not to spread too much. Place on parchment lined baking sheet and bake 9-10 minutes. They might seem a bit underdone, but will set nicely when cool.
- Meanwhile, make the filling: Beat together the butter and peanut butter in a large bowl until smooth and fluffy. Gradually add in powdered sugar and beat until filling is smooth. Add 1 TB milk at a time, until desired consistency.
- Once cookies are completely cooled, spread half the cookies with the peanut butter frosting and sandwich with the remaining cookies.
Notes
- Use room temperature butter and eggs so the dough mixes evenly and the cookies bake with a consistent texture.
- Don’t skip chilling the dough. It helps the cookies hold their shape and keeps them thick and chewy.
- Measure cocoa powder and flour correctly by spooning and leveling to avoid dense cookies.
- Bake just until the edges are set and the centers look slightly soft. They’ll firm up as they cool for that perfect fudgy bite.
- Let cookies cool completely before adding the filling so it doesn’t melt or slide off.
- For a fluffier filling, beat the butter and peanut butter longer before adding powdered sugar.
- Add milk to the filling one tablespoon at a time until it’s smooth and spreadable but not runny.
- If the filling feels too thick, mix in a touch more milk; if too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.
- This recipe is part of our Cookie Recipes Collection.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 426kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 326mg | Potassium: 185mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 597IU | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1mg