Peanut Butter Nutella Sandwich Cookies

I came across these cookies on Annie’s Eats when I was browsing her blog the other day. If you’ve never visited her blog, you really should! She has some great recipes, and she does so much and she’s a doctor. I’m so impressed by her! She had a little sidebar on the site featuring different recipes and this was one of the features. They looked really good and I thought I would give them a try.

The basis of this recipe is Dorie Greenspan’s peanut butter cookies. I’ve made her cookies before, substituting Nutella for the peanut butter and they were a great success. This recipe is slightly adapted in that I left out the peanuts. (I also forgot the eggs, which I realized when I typed up this recipe. They have a sandy texture and I am shocked that they came together with no eggs.) I did make the chocolate ganache, but ended up not using it. It sat in the refrigerator too long and it got too hard to use as a filling. I substituted Nutella instead, which worked out great.

I sent these to work with my husband and his coworkers really liked them. He came home that afternoon and said that they had all been eaten. I guess one of his coworkers questioned the chocolate and peanut butter combo (really?) but ended up liking them anyway. I don’t think that you can taste the hazelnuts in the Nutella; only the chocolate flavor shines through. These also store very well; they haven’t gotten hard and still taste as good as the day I made them. These are a great twist on a traditional peanut butter cookie, perfect for the cookie jar.

2-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
About ½ cup sugar, for rolling
About ½ cup Nutella, for sandwiching

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium speed for a minute or two, until smooth and creamy. Add the peanut butter and beat for another minute. Add the sugars and beat for 3 minutes more. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition. Scrape down the bowl and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they just disappear.

Shape the dough into teaspoon sized balls; roll the balls in the sugar and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten the balls with the palm of your hand or with a fork dipped in sugar. Bake for about 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on the baking sheet for a minute or two, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

When completely cool, sandwich the cookies together with Nutella.

Inspiration for this recipe from Annie's Eats . Cookie recipe adapted from Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.