Peanut butter and chocolate. Is there any better flavor combination? These Peanut Butter Ganache Sandwich Cookies really deliver! I remember the early commercials for Reese’s peanut butter cups when a guy holding a chocolate bar would accidentally bump into someone else with a jar of peanut butter. Those commercials always made me laugh.
Today’s cookies are no laughing matter though. They are seriously good. No, let’s make that outstanding. Yep, that’s the word. The original recipe came from Cook’s Illustrated and I only made a couple of very small changes, why mess with perfection! They are wonderful eaten as is, but when you add the chocolate, ooh la la!
The first time I made them was for an event for one of my neighbors and to this day she tells me they were the best cookies she’s ever eaten. I didn’t bake off all the cookies this time and I’m going to surprise her with the rest of the dough so she can make her own fresh-from-the-oven cookies!
They are rich, buttery, packed with nutty goodness, and the addition of the extra finely chopped nuts adds a beautiful texture. Crunchy with a slight chewiness in the center
I have used this ganache recipe before (like with these addictive almond cookies) and always return to it because it is so simple to make and absolutely the best tasting ganache.
This is one place where you want to splurge a little on high quality chocolate. There is only chocolate and cream, so the quality shines through. Guittard is my go-to chocolate because if the consistent quality and it is made here in the Bay Area, but I also love Callebaut, Valrhona, and Cacao Barry. What you want to do is buy the best chocolate you can afford when possible – it really does make a difference. Here is an excellent article from Bon Appetit on the best chocolates to bake with.
OK, enough chit chat, let’s get in the kitchen and make thesePeanut Butter Ganache Sandwich Cookies. You will thank me! LOL
Happy Chocolate Monday my friends!
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- 2-1/2 cups (300g) all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher or fine sea salt
- 2 sticks (220g) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
- 1 cup (200g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (250g) peanut butter (can use almond or other type of "nut butter")
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (about 100g) dry-roasted salted peanuts (or any other nut of choice) ground in a food processor until they resemble breadcrumbs
- Chocolate Ganache Filling
- 200g (7 oz) chocolate, chopped
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- Prepare the Peanut Butter Cookies: Adjust the oven racks to the upper and lower-middle positions and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.
- In your standing mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add both sugars and beat until creamed, about 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary. Beat in the eggs until light and fluffy, then add the peanut butter and the vanilla. Add half the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture and beat until smooth, then repeat with the remaining dry ingredients. Add the ground peanuts and mix just until incorporated.
- Using a spring-loaded ice cream scoop, portion the dough into 2-inch balls. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. (I got 8 per baking sheet.) Firmly press the top of each ball with a dinner fork dipped in cold water and then go back and press again in the opposite direction to make a crisscross design. Re-wet the fork as need to help with sticking.
- Bake until the cookies are puffed and lightly golden, 10 to 13 minutes,* rotating the baking sheets from front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets a couple of minutes before transferring them to a wire rack with a " target="_blank"> metal spatula to cool completely.
- Make the Chocolate Ganache Filling: Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set next to the stove.
- Pour the cream into a small saucepan and over medium-high heat bring to a low boil (bubbles will break the surface, but not to a full rolling boil). Remove from the heat and pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let it sit for about 5 minutes to start the chocolate melting. Then gently stir until all the chocolate has melted and the texture is smooth.
- Set the bowl aside to cool and thicken. Once the ganache has firmed up, transfer to a piping bag fitted with a round tip or a plastic bag (press the ganache into one corner and snip off the tip).
- Assemble Cookie Sandwiches: Match up cookies into sets of similar size. Turn half of them upside down and pipe a dollop onto the flat surface. Gently press the second cookie on top, flat side down, until the ganache spreads nearly to the edge. Set each cookie sandwich onto a wire rack to let the ganache set.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Yield: about 3 dozen cookies; 18 sandwich cookies
- * The original recipe had a smaller amount of ganache, only enough for a small amount on each sandwich. With a larger amount of filling in each one, the flavors are more balanced, so I doubled the ganache ingredients. You can make as much or as little as you like. And of course, you don't have to make these into sandwich cookies at all but serve them as plain peanut butter cookies - if you do, I recommend baking them 10 to 12 minutes for a softer, chewier cookie.
- * If you are serving these without the chocolate filling, you may want to bake them on the low side of the time range, around 10 minutes. The moisture in the ganache softens the cookies so baking them a little longer will help with the final texture.
Create a New Tradition Today!
Welcome! If you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, need to alter a recipe for gluten-free, or want recipe suggestions, don’t hesitate to ask. Feel free to quote me, just give credit where credit is due, link to the recipe, and send people to my website. Unauthorized use, distribution, and/or duplication of proprietary material from The Heritage Cook without prior approval is prohibited. If you have any questions or would like permission, please contact me. The suggestions here are not intended as dietary advice or as a substitute for consulting a dietician, physician, or other medical professional. Please see the Disclaimers page for additional details. Thanks for visiting The Heritage Cook!
I always love to hear from you!