Magic in the Middle Cookies
A chocolate peanut butter cup, in cookie form! These chewy chocolate peanut butter cookies (a dough made in one bowl, with just a whisk) are filled with a smooth, sweet & salty peanut butter filling.
I’m not sure who first invented the magic in the middle cookie; the earliest version of these I can find is by PJ Hamel & Susan Reid, but there’s also mention of it elsewhere as a clipping from an older magazine.
My introduction to them was simultaneously from Deb and KAB (KAB’s is also a PJ Hamel recipe). Almost all the recipes you can find for these online are quite similar in terms of ingredients and quantities (save Deb’s which has more cocoa in the cookie); and they result in a soft but thick cookie, with a mix of powdered sugar and peanut butter inside (as you would when making homemade peanut butter cups).
How this magic in the middle cookie recipe is a little different
I love a peanut butter chocolate combo but the standard magic in the middle cookie as it’s been made so far has always left me a tad dissatisfied. Instead of thick and a bit cakey like, with a thick almost dry filling, I wanted a cookie base that was more fudgy and chewy, with a smooth almost melty middle.
You may note that this chocolate monster cookie dough is very similar but instead uses all purpose flour and I’ve changed up the leavening a bit so they will have more power to spread against that peanut butter & chocolate dough.
Key Recipe Ingredients
Peanut Butter: It’s really important to use a commercial brand of creamy peanut butter (the oil should not have separated). I use Jiff Natural or Skippy Creamy. Other brands may give you a slightly different cookie than pictured (some have more sugar).
Flour: All purpose flour of at least 11% protein content. I use KAB AP.
Cocoa: Dutch process cocoa. I like Hershey’s Special Dark, Ghirardelli’s Dutch, or Rodelle’s Dutch. And if you can get it, Guittard makes a heavenly Cocoa Rogue.
Maple Syrup: To sweeten without thickening the peanut butter layer I add maple syrup. You could also use honey. If you wanted to leave it out for a pure pb layer that’s fine too.
Magic In the Middle Cookies: Filling Options
While traditionally made with peanut butter (by tradition I think it’s been no more than a decade) you could use another nut butter like sunflower butter or cashew butter.
Also yes, you can totally just stuff a peanut butter cup in there!
Recipe for Magic Middle Cookies
Magic in the Middle Cookies
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Middle
- 180g peanut butter creamy about 3/4 cups
- 20g or 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- Pinch salt
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie
- 113g or ½ cup unsalted butter
- 210g or 1 cup granulated sugar
- 50g creamy peanut butter
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 50g or ½ cup dutch process cocoa
- 120g or 1 cup all purpose flour fluff the flour and sprinkle into the cup if using volume measurements (do not pack it in!)
Method
- Mix together the peanut butter and maple syrup. Dollop 1 tablespoon of the mix onto a small plate or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Set in the freezer for 20 minutes to firm them up.
- Melt the butter in the microwave (don't let it sputter less you lose any liquid). Add the sugar and whisk very well.
- Add the peanut butter, salt, vanilla and egg and whisk the mixture very well.
- Add the cocoa, flour and baking soda and fold with a rubber spatula.
- Cover with a tea towel and leave on the counter for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two standard size cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- If you’d like to do a sugared topping, mix together ¼ cup granulated sugar and a pinch of salt.
- Scoop cookie dough onto cookie sheet, about 1.5-2 tablespoons per cookie.
- Press a mound of cookie dough with your thumbs to flatten to make room for the peanut butter, and place the pb in the center then wrap the dough around. Roll the ball between your palms to smooth it out. Once placed onto the cookie sheet use your two fingers to flatten slightly (this will help them spread). Dip in the sugar if using. Repeat with the rest of the cookies.
- Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes.
Did you make this recipe?
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These came out really delicious! I agree with previous reviewer Sara that some of the wording in the recipe is a bit confusing/ambiguous but I’m a pretty experienced baker so it didn’t trip me up too much. I will say that I think my PB dollops were a bit less than a tablespoon to make it to 16, and also the spread was a lot more than I expected so I’d recommend baking these on two sheets instead of one so they don’t squish into each other.
I followed this recipe exactly and it came out perfect for me. I’ll definitely make these again. But, I wanted to note a few issues with the recipe as written that you might want to address.
First, Step 1 says to dollop 1 tablespoon of the p.b. mixture, which was confusing to me as I wasn’t sure what the 1 dollop was for. I eventually figured out that it should say to dollop 16 tablespoons. I think rephrasing this would be a lot clearer!
I was also confused by the timing. As directed, you make the p.b. mixture and freeze it for 20 minutes. But when you make the chocolate dough, you have to let it rest for 30 mins. So if you do the p.b. mixture first as directed, do you actually let it freeze for 35+ minutes (until after the dough is finished resting), or are you taking it out after 20 minutes? Or should you do the chocolate mixture first, then make the filling and let it freeze for 20 minutes to overlap with the 30 mins the dough is resting?
Finally, I was wondering what to do after the cookies finished baking. Some recipes say to let them cool on the cookie sheet, whereas others say to put them on a rack. Mine seemed too soft to put on a rack right away, so I let them sit on the cookie sheet for a few mins to firm up and then put them on a cooling rack. This worked great, but I would recommend adding this type of instruction toward the end to avoid any ambiguity!
Thanks for the great recipe, and I hope these suggestions will help others make these delicious cookies!
Hi Sara, thanks for the comment and review! I will take a look at those instructions and see what I can clean up =)
I was going to bake other recipe of yours but these caught my attention… They’re soooo decadent, the coating of sugar makes the edges super chewy. Perfect with cold milk 🙂
These cookies are awesome! My family loves Reese’s and these are basically the cookie version! I have used this recipe twice and they have turned out great both times! I followed the directions exactly and used a scale to measure all the ingredients! I will be making them again and again!
I’m sure these taste delicious hence the 3 stars, but they spread out like pancakes, I followed the directions to a T. To me the dough seemed way too soft and probably should have been chilled or not left out for 30 mins.
Hi! Can these be made with nutella in the middle?
These cookies are delicious! The outside is delicious and chocolate-y, and then you get hit with delicious, salty PB! I sprinkled some Maldon sea salt on top, and that just blew them out of the park. I took them to a picnic, and they were some of the first desserts to go! Everybody was raving about them and asking who made them! This recipe is definitely a keeper. These cookies are so easy to make, not too sweet, and totally a crowd favorite!
Hi, are these soft cookies or crispy?
soft and chewy
Made these for a get together and I couldn’t believe a) how quickly they came together and b) how AMAZING they were! Every friend who tried one got wide eyed and immediately said holy moly that’s delicious. My husband claimed them as his favorite cookie ever. Bravo.
AAAHH, this is so wonderful to hear Aubrey 😀
These were so good! The texture of the sugar coated cookie with the creamy peanut butter is perfect.
I don’t even know how to express how delicious these cookies are. The peanut butter stays soft and gooey in the center and really smacks you with PB flavor. Also loved the addition of salt in the sugar coating — don’t skip that part!
I made these as part of my holiday cookie boxes and they were delicious! Everyone loved them! Thanks for the great recipe.
Hi! So excited to make these for Christmas! I wanted to know if you think it would be okay to prep the cookie dough and peanut butter portion today and store it overnight in the fridge for baking tomorrow. Thank you!!
Hi Ashley, I think that would be ok but keep the dough sealed – you might even shape them then store the balls in an airtight container in the fridge.
Hi! I just made these and they are so, so good. Do you happen to know how long they’ll keep? Thanks!
hi! that’s so great to hear! I think they keep well for a few days if kept in an airtight container. If you want to store them longer I’d freeze them.
Hi! I’m so excited to make these but I’m wondering if I can replace the peanut butter with cookie butter?
I think you can! I had a follower on tiktok do this and said they turned out great
Hi Sam! Love your cookie recipes. Do you think the dough for this one could be portioned and frozen, and baked from frozen (or slightly thawed)?
Hi! I do, once you have them coated in sugar (or if you aren’t doing that, wrapped around the peanut butter) you can flash freeze them on a plate then into a ziplock bag for longer. I’d add a few more minutes to the bake time in this case