Peanut Butter Filled Brownie Cookies

Take rich and chewy brownie cookies to the next level with a creamy peanut butter swirl! Both the peanut butter filling and cookie dough must chill before shaping. Review shaping success tips above the recipe.

Ingredients

Peanut Butter Filling

• 1/2 cup (125g) creamy peanut butter (see Note)
• 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar

Cookie Dough

• 8 ounces (226g) semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (2 standard 4-ounce bars of baking chocolate)
• 3/4 cup (94g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
• 1/4 cup (21g) natural unsweetened or dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Make the peanut butter filling: In a small bowl, mix the peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar together until combined and smooth. You can just use a spoon for this. Mixture is thick, yet soft. With a teaspoon, scoop out a spoonful of peanut butter mixture (about 6g), and roll into a ball. Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, plate, or tray. Repeat with remaining mixture until you have 24 peanut butter balls. Loosely cover and freeze for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. (I usually just freeze them for a little over 1 hour, which is the amount of time it takes to make and chill the brownie cookie dough.)