Soft Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Soft Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

I never imagined that I’d ever be posting a peanut butter cookie recipe. There are already crunchy peanut butter cookies, soft ones, chewy ones, and those peanut shaped store bought ones out there. I mean, do we even need another peanut butter cookie recipe? After I tasted this one, it’s a resounding YES! These soft, tender cookies combined with a silky, smooth filling are a new peanut butter experience that I had to share.

The key to getting the soft texture in the cookie, without being dry, is cake flour. So don’t substitute it, because it’s vital to achieve the correct texture. Make sure to weigh your flour for the most accurate results. The second important ingredient is heavy whipping cream. Just a little added to the filling gives it a luxurious, silky texture.

This recipe makes sixteen medium size peanut butter cookies, which will give you eight sandwiches. If you want more, you can double the recipe or make the cookies smaller. Smaller cookies will have a shorter baking time.

Print Recipe
Soft Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
Course Dessert
Servings
cookie sandwiches
Ingredients
Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut Butter Filling
Course Dessert
Servings
cookie sandwiches
Ingredients
Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut Butter Filling
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, cake flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat peanut butter, butter and shortening until smooth.
  4. Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined.
  5. Set aside 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar. Beat peanut butter mixture with brown sugar and remaining granulated sugar, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until light and fluffy.
  6. Add flour mixture and beat just until combined.
  7. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch diameter balls (1 1/4 ounce each). Roll dough balls in reserved granulated sugar.
  8. Place dough balls three inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten with a fork, making a criss cross pattern.
  9. Bake until cookies are puffy and start to crack around the edges, about 9-11 minutes.
  10. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 1 minute, then carefully transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. Cookies will be fragile, but they will firm up as they cool.
  11. Place a spoonful of filling on the bottoms of half of the cookies. Top with remaining cookies.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarts

Does anyone else remember those old peanut butter cup commercials where two people on the street would collide and a chocolate bar would miraculously end up inside of a jar of peanut butter? Then the person carrying the open jar of peanut butter would say, “Hey you got chocolate in my peanut butter!” and they would suddenly discover it’s a delicious combination. The real question is, why was anyone walking around outside with an open jar of peanut butter? I miss those silly commercials.

If you love chocolate and peanut butter together, you’ll absolutely love these tarts. The creamy peanut butter filling and the silky chocolate ganache topping are perfect together. The chocolate cookie crust adds a nice crunch. I used heart shaped tart pans to make the tarts a little more special for Valentine’s Day. To find the tart pans I used, click here. You can also use round tart pans if you prefer.

To watch the Instagram video, click here.

Print Recipe
Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarts
Instructions
Crust
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place four 4-inch tart pans with removable bottoms* on a baking sheet.
  2. in a medium bowl, mix crushed sandwich cookies with melted butter until well combined. Press crumb mixture into tart pans.
  3. Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool completely.
Filling
  1. In a medium bowl, beat peanut butter and softened butter until smooth.
  2. Add remaining filling ingredients and beat until smooth and well combined.
  3. Fill cooled tart shells with filling. Refrigerate tarts until set, at least 2 hours.
Topping
  1. Place chopped chocolate in a small bowl.
  2. In a small saucepan, heat heavy cream over medium-low heat just until bubble form around the edges. Do not boil.
  3. Pour hot cream over chocolate. Let sit two minutes then stir until smooth.
  4. Spoon over peanut butter filling. Add toppings if desired. Refrigerate until chocolate is set. Carefully remove tarts from pans.
Recipe Notes

To find the tart pans I used, click here.