The salted caramel peanut butter cookie is a soft and chewy peanut butter cookie filled subtly with salted caramel and topped with dark chocolate ganache and mini semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Cookie
Every blog needs a delicious peanut butter cookie. And this one is does not disappoint!
Each cookie is filled with salted caramel before baking. The salted caramel enhances the peanut butter flavor as it melts into the cookie instead of standing out as a separate ingredient.
The cookie remains chewy and soft thanks to an ingredient combination of butter and shortening, and the addition of eggs. The cookie spreads a little while baking, making a huge delicious cookie! I personally like the look of the large cookie, but if you want to control the size, just chill the dough for about 30 minutes before baking.
The cookie without chocolate could stand alone quite successfully, but swirling a little dark chocolate ganache on top does not distract from the salty caramel, peanut buttery flavor. Adding mini-chocolate chips was definitely for looks—but tastes just right as well!
Ingredients for the Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Cookie:
Caramel: I used the square caramels you can find in the candy section of the grocery store. I wanted the caramel to remain soft in the cookie, so I combined the caramels with a little heavy cream and re-hardened the caramel in teaspoon sized disks. I found the caramel disks easiest to work with while they were frozen.
Unsalted butter and Shortening: As with other cookie recipes I have developed, I really like the combination of unsalted butter and shortening. Using both ingredients provides a crisp-chewy cookie that stays soft. I personally like the all-butter taste of a cookie, but also want the “soft” advantage that shortening brings to a cookie recipe.
Peanut butter: I prefer Skippy peanut butter. But you can choose the brand you prefer best.
Eggs: Use these as a room temperature ingredient so they combine better with the wet ingredients.
All-purpose flour:
Baking soda and Baking powder:
Salt: I prefer Real Salt, a kosher salt. The salt crystals are larger than typical Morton’s table salt. If you prefer Morton’s, use 2/3 to 3/4 the amount called for in the recipe.
Quality semi-sweet chocolate chips: Quality does make a difference in the end-result taste of the ganache. I prefer Ghirardelli or Guittard, or Costco’s semi-sweet chocolate chips.
How to Make Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Cookies:
Caramel Inside:
- In a microwave bowl, melt 18 square caramels for 30 seconds in the microwave. Stir. Add heavy cream and microwave for another 10 seconds. Stir until smooth. Drop 1 teaspoon full of caramel on to parchment paper. Freeze for at least 2 minutes. Keep slightly frozen to be able to remove from the parchment paper and place inside the peanut butter cookie dough.
Peanut Butter Cookie Dough:
- Preheat oven to 350° F (177° C). Measure flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
- In mixer with paddle attachment:
- Cream butter, shortening, and peanut butter on medium-high speed, about 2-3 minutes or until fluffed together. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl.
- Add granulated and brown sugars. Mix on medium-high speed for about 3-5 minutes. Scrape bowl.
- Add eggs, one at a time on low speed, scraping bowl between each addition.
- Add vanilla and mix for 2 minutes on medium-high speed until fluffy.
- Add flour mixture all at once. On low speed, mix just until all the flour disappears. Scrape bowl and fold mixture from bottom to top to make sure flour is completely mixed in.
- Using a 2” cookie scoop, place dough on baking sheets (6-8cookies per pan—cookies expand slightly). Open scooped cookie dough with top off. Flatten bottom enough to place one frozen circle of caramel on top, with slight edge of cookie dough showing. Top with the top cookie dough and slightly press edges together so caramel is enclosed by cookie dough and resembles a puck. Lightly spray bottom of flat-bottomed glass with cooking spray. Dip in sugar and press cookie flatten it slightly. Leave a rough edge around the cookie. Dip in sugar again before pressing each cookie.
- Bake at 350° F (177° C) for 12 minutes. The cookie tops are barely firm and not browned on edges. DO NOT overcook! Allow the cookies to cool in the pan. The cookies will continue to cook slightly.
Dark Chocolate Ganache:
- Heat the cream in a microwave safe bowl for one minute. Pour cream into a bowl of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Stir until smooth. If further melting is needed, heat bowl of chocolate in microwave for 30 seconds more. Stir. Set aside at room temperature.
To Assemble Cookie:
- When cookies have cooled completely, pour slightly cooled ganache into a disposable cake decorating bag. Cut the end to form a small hole. Swirl ganache on to peanut butter cookie tops. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips. To harden ganache, place in refrigerator for a few minutes.
Enjoy this Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Cookie with a large glass of milk!
–Kim
Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Cookie
Ingredients
Caramel Inside:
- 18 square caramels
- 2 teaspoons heavy cream
Peanut Butter Cookie Dough:
- ¼ cup (56.5g) unsalted butter
- ¼ cup (46g) shortening
- ½ cup (125g) peanut butter
- ½ cup (99g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (220g) brown sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
Dark Chocolate Ganache
- ½ cup (75g) quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 ½ Tablespoons (36g) heavy cream
- ½ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips for sprinkling on top of swirled ganache
Instructions
Caramel Inside:
- In a microwave bowl, melt 18 square caramels for 30 seconds on high in the microwave. Stir. Add heavy cream and microwave for another 10 seconds. Stir until smooth.
- Drop 1 teaspoon full of caramel on to parchment paper. Freeze for at least 2 minutes. Keep slightly frozen to be able to remove from the parchment paper and place inside the peanut butter cookie dough.
Peanut Butter Cookie Dough:
- Preheat oven to 350° F (177° C).
- Measure flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
- In mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter, shortening, and peanut butter on medium-high speed, about 2-3 minutes or until fluffed together. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl.
- Add granulated and brown sugars. Mix on medium-high speed for about 3-5 minutes. Scrape bowl.
- Add eggs, one at a time on low speed, scraping bowl between each addition. Add vanilla and mix for 2 minutes on medium-high speed until fluffy.
- Add flour mixture all at once. On low speed, mix just until all the flour disappears. Scrape bowl and fold mixture from bottom to top to make sure flour is completely mixed in.
- Using a 2” cookie scoop, place dough on baking sheets (6-8cookies per pan—cookies expand slightly). Open scooped cookie dough with top off. Flatten bottom enough to place one frozen circle of caramel on top, with slight edge of cookie dough showing. Top with the top cookie dough and slightly press edges together so caramel is enclosed by cookie dough and resembles a puck.
- Lightly spray bottom of flat-bottomed glass with cooking spray. Dip in sugar and press cookie flatten it slightly. Leave a rough edge around the cookie. Dip in sugar again before pressing each cookie.
- Bake at 350° F (177° C) for 12 minutes. The cookie tops are barely firm and not browned on edges. DO NOT overcook! Allow the cookies to cool in the pan. The cookies will continue to cook slightly.
Dark Chocolate Ganache:
- Heat the cream in a microwave safe bowl for one minute. Pour cream into a bowl of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Stir until smooth.
- If further melting is needed, heat bowl of chocolate in microwave for 30 seconds more. Stir. Set aside at room temperature.
To Assemble Cookie:
- When cookies have cooled completely, pour slightly cooled ganache into a disposable cake decorating bag. Cut the end to form a small hole. Swirl ganache on to peanut butter cookie tops. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips. To harden ganache, place in refrigerator for a few minutes.
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