Chocolate Surprise Cookies
Chocolate and peanut butter are popular with our family, so I combined them in this recipe. It's fun watching people's faces when they bite into the middle.
Chocolate and peanut butter are popular with our family, so I combined them in this recipe. It's fun watching people's faces when they bite into the middle.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
- icing:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup baking cocoa
- 1 egg white
- 2 tablespoons shortening
- chocolate dough:
- 1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
- Carbohydrate 52.9407489627706 g
- Cholesterol 33.2557809876692 mg
- Fat 19.6718750644463 g
- Fiber 1.83496670248673 g
- Protein 4.62068933562664 g
- Saturated Fat 11.1374276915323 g
- Serving Size 1 1 (98g)
- Sodium 2150.34957876862 mg
- Sugar 51.1057822602839 g
- Trans Fat 1.20421516246155 g
- Calories 390 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large bowl, beat peanut butter and confectioners' sugar until smooth.
- Roll into thirty 3/4-in. balls.
- Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in another bowl, cream butter, peanut butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Beat in egg white and vanilla.
- Combine flour, cocoa and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture until blended.
- Roll into thirty 1-1/2-in. balls.
- Using floured hands, flatten chocolate balls and shape one around each peanut butter ball, sealing edges.
- Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets.
- Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar.
- Bake at 375° for 7-9 minutes or until cookies are set and tops are cracked.
- Cool for 1 minute.
- Before removing to wire racks.
- For icing, in a small bowl, beat shortening and confectioners' sugar until smooth.
- Beat in vanilla and enough milk to reach spreading consistency.
- Spoon into a resealable plastic bag or pastry bag; cut a small hole in corner of bag.
- Pipe icing over cookies in a zigzag pattern.
Standard ingredient lists hide structural mechanics. Confectioners' sugar in the peanut butter core acts as a stabilizer, binding the fat so the filling holds its shape when chilled at 38 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Without this chill time, the peanut butter liquefies inside the chocolate shell during the bake.
Managing Temperature and Freezing
Dough balls can be assembled and frozen unbaked on sheet pans for up to two weeks. Seal them tightly in plastic containers to prevent freezer burn before transferring them straight to the oven. Extend the bake time by two minutes if baking from frozen, ensuring the centers thaw completely.
Judging Doneness Visually
Bake these at 375 degrees for seven to nine minutes. Watch for surface cracks and set edges rather than color changes, because cocoa masks browning. Cool cookies on the pan for exactly one minute before transferring them to wire racks, as moving them too soon causes the tender structure to tear.
