These peanut butter cookies stuffed with Rolos and rolled in sugar belong in the hall of the best peanut butter cookies ever! I highly recommend these – they are definitely the best peanut butter cookies I have tried so far, especially considering how easy they are to make! The cookie itself (even without the rolos) is so perfect with its yummy brownie-like texture: it’s both chewy and soft at the same time. There is just the right amount of peanut butter: not too much and not too little. You can definitely taste a peanut butter in this cookie, and yet it’s not like you’re eating overly rich peanut butter cookies. Topped with utterly delicious milk chocolate caramel candy (Rolos), these cookies reach a completely new level! And when you bite into the chocolate center, and it burst with chewy caramel – it’s then that you realize that these cookies completely justify their name: peanut butter SURPRISE cookies (with rolos).
The seemingly unimportant step of rolling these cookies in granulated sugar right before putting them in the oven is the reason why these cookies look so pretty (almost like sugar cookies), why they are light in color and have beautiful cracks on top. Coating these cookies in sugar before baking serves two purposes:
1) The cookies acquire lighter, much more attractive color when sugar coated. If you don’t roll these cookies in sugar, they will come out much darker, almost looking like dark peanut butter. Rolled in sugar, they come out looking like sugar cookies!
2) Rolling cookies in sugar gives them a nice soft crunch on the outside of the cookie.
For cookies to have that nicely rounded, puffed up shape, roll them in balls between the palms of your hands and then roll each cookie ball in sugar. If the cookie dough is too soft for you to work with, let it chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before rolling.
Let the cookies bake without Rolos for about 7 minutes, just until they spread a little and puff up. At this point, remove the cookie sheet from the oven and add one Rolo candy in the middle of each cookie, by pressing it down gently. Bake for additional 5 minutes, no longer, just until cookie edges begin to brown slightly, and the chocolate covered candy starts melting on top, without disintegrating.
The result are amazingly yummy cookies that are popular with kids and adults alike! They have a moist, almost brownie-like texture and only get better as the days pass by. Keep them in air-tight container and they will last you for up to 2 weeks – that is,if you’re disciplined enough not to eat them all the first day!
Peanut butter surprise cookies with Rolos
Total time: 30 minutes
Adapted from Martha Stewart.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (let the butter from refrigerator sit on the counter for about an hour or so)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/6 cup granulated sugar for coating
- 18 Rolos, chewy caramels in milk chocolate, plus more – for snacking
Makes 15-18 cookies
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using an electric mixer, cream peanut butter and butter in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add eggs and vanilla, and continue beating until creamy.
2) In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients from step 2 to wet ingredients in step 1, beating on low speed.
3) Prepare baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or lightly greased aluminum foil. Place granulated sugar on a plate. Roll spoonfuls of cookie dough into balls, rolling each ball between your hands. Roll balls in sugar to coat them completely.
4) Place cookie balls 2 inches apart on a prepared baking sheet. Bake until cookies begin to puff up slightly, about 7 minutes. Remove from oven. Press one Rolo candy in center of each cookie. Return to oven; continue baking for about 5 more minutes, until cookies just turn golden brown and chocolate begins to melt. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool at least 10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring cookies to rack to cool completely.
