One of my favorite junk food cookies as a kid was the “Magic Middle,” a wonderful creation by the little Keebler Elves. It was a vanilla shortbread type cookie with a chocolate ganache-like center. Would it hold up if I had one today? Probably not. But that doesn’t take away from the special place it resides in my fondest childhood memories. It’s also given me an idea to recreate my own version, and this time around use peanut butter cookies.
I posted a recipe for peanut butter cookies somewhere back in the history of DFK. I’m a fan of them, and I still think – as I wrote back then – that they don’t get their due in the pantheon of great cookies. I figure if there’s anything that may lift peanut butter up to greater heights, it’s chocolate. Peanut butter & chocolate is a legit heavy-hitter in the flavor combo world, and I thought it would be the perfect one to use for this recipe.
As always, I’m adding some elements to this dessert to elevate it just a bit. We’ll be making a peanut butter ganache to “fill” the center of each cookie, and my method of cookie/ganache construction will be both consistent and produce a slightly cleaner look than the traditional rustic cookie shape.
All in all, I’m pretty happy with these guys. They’re no Magic Middle, but they hold their own. Hope you give ’em a try!
Cheers – Chef Scott
- 217 g butter unsalted
- 200 g sugar
- 220 g brown sugar dark
- 5 g vanilla extract
- 4 g salt
- 100 g whole egg about 2 eggs
- 160 g peanut butter creamy
- 370 g All-purpose flour
- 5 g baking powder
- 7 g baking soda
- 229 g heavy cream
- 59 g glucose
- 253 g chocolate, 66% Guittard Semi-sweet Organic Wafers
- 132 g peanut butter creamy
- 2 g salt
- Bring the butter and whole egg to room temperature, and sift the dry ingredients before beginning.
- Combine the butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and salt and mix in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until well combined, about 3-5min.
- Add the whole egg and mix until well emulsified.
- Add the peanut butter and mix until combined.
- Add the sifted all purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda, mixing until the dough is just combined.
- Roll the dough between 1/2" / 13mm casting bars and chill for a minimum of 2hrs.
- Punch 8 disks of the 1/2" dough using a 2 3/4" / 7cm ring cutter.
- Consolidate the remaining dough and roll between 1/4" / 6mm casting bars. Chill the dough and then punch 8 disks using a 2 3/4" ring cutter. Chill both sets of disks.
- Combine the heavy cream and glucose and bring to a simmer.
- Add the chocolate and peanut butter and let the mixture sit for 1-2min.
- Hand blend or whisk the ganache until fully emulsified.
- Cast the ganache into a mold or as a sheet to create disks that are 1/4" / 6mm thick and 2"/ 5cm in diameter. Freeze the ganache until set.
- Prepare a half sheet of plexi glass or a flat sheet pan with a half sheet of acetate before beginning. Use water to seal the acetate to the plexiglass, and thoroughly dry the setup of excess water.
- Temper the chocolate and spread a thin sheet over the acetate.
- Once semi-set, punch 3" / 7.5cm disks using a ring cutter.
- Allow the chocolate to set in a cool, dry place and reserve to use later.
- Press a disk of ganache into the center of each 1/2" thick disk of cookie dough. Press the ganache just over half way into the dough.
- Cover the ganache with a disk of 1/4" thick cookie dough, gently pressing around the edges to seal both disks of dough together. Trim the edges of each cookie with a 2 3/4" ring cutter. Chill the cookies for a minimum of 2hrs. up to overnight.
- As these make large cookies, only bake 4 cookies per half sheet pan.
- Bake at 370F / 188C for 15-20min. or until small cracks begin to appear on the surface of the cookie and the edges just begin to take on color.
- Immediately after removing from the oven, place a disk of chocolate on the center of each cookie, allowing the heat of the cookie to melt the chocolate.
These look delish and I can’t wait to make them….Do you have any formulas for a chocolate banana ganache if one has a hankering for Elvis-type cookies?
Thanks!
Donna
Hi Scott,
Thanks for this recipe and this website in general!
I gave these a go yesterday and they were delicious. I rolled the dough into a log and cut rounds before sandwiching the ganache and trimming the edges with a cutter which worked quite well. They didn’t turn out as moist as yours look in the picture, I think mine were a little smaller but I only baked them for 12-13 minutes at 170c. I wonder if it might be the brand of peanut butter I used. Against your advice I used 100% natural peanut butter because that’s what I had, it seemed to incorporate well into the cookie dough but completely split when I made the ganache. The ganahce was definitely dry but I’m guessing that’s because all the peanut oil leaked out.
I found it curious that your plain peanut cookie recipe has a lot more peanut butter but everything else is identical. Just wondered why you made the change for this recipe? How does the end result differ with more peanut butter?
Thanks again!
Evan
Hi Evan,
You nailed it, a 100% natural peanut butter does not have any emulsifiers in it, which means the oil will separate (sometimes when baking, definitely when making ganache). Since this cookie is filled, I wanted to make sure the dough would hold its form, which is why I reduce the peanut butter. The full quantity of peanut butter will make a softer cookie that may not hold up as well when filled.
Cheers – Chef Scott