Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Cookie
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.
Servings: 14 cookies
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.