What’s a more classic cookie than a peanut butter cookie? These peanut butter ganache cookie sandwiches are soft and chewy, with a little crunch from oats, and lightly spiced with cinnamon. And while great on their own, I filled them with dark chocolate ganache. The rich creamy peanut butter, the crunch of the oats, the smooth dark chocolate, the flakes of salt – they all work together so harmoniously to create this perfect bite. This is a high-altitude tested recipe for peanut butter cookies. They’re soft and chewy, with just the right amount of salt to balance the sweetness for a deliciously salty-sweet treat.
Looking for more cookie recipes? You’ll love these soft and chewy oatmeal cream pies, nutty white chocolate chip butterscotch cookies, and brown butter oatmeal raisin cookies.
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Instructions
Cream the Butter and Sugar.
First, you’ll cream together the peanut butter, butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. This incorporates air and volume into the batter, so that the cookies puff up just a little as they bake.
Beat in the Egg and Vanilla.
An egg adds structure to the dough, helping to bind it together so the cookies don’t crumble apart. And of course, vanilla makes everything better!
Add the Dry Ingredients.
In a bowl, combine all-purpose flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. The oats add such a nice crunch to the chewy cookies, and the spice of the cinnamon is such a great addition. If you don’t like cinnamon, or prefer to use a different spice, then by all means use what you like. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, and mix just until combined.
Chill and Bake the Cookies.
To let the flavors mingle, and to prevent the cookies from spreading too much, chill the dough for a couple of hours. Then, preheat the oven while you scoop the chilled cookie dough into balls. Either use a cookie scoop, or weigh the dough, to make sure they’re all the same size. It’s important that the cookies are the same size, since they will need to be matched up with each other when you assemble the sandwiches. (If you prefer, you could also scoop the dough into balls first, and then chill the dough balls before baking, which can sometimes be easier than scooping cold, hard dough.)
Bake the cookies for about 7 1/2 – 8 minutes, being careful not to overbake them. They’ll set up as they cool, and stay wonderfully soft and chewy for days. I love the iconic criss-cross imprint a fork on top of peanut butter cookies.
Make the Chocolate Ganache.
Ganache is a simple mixture of chocolate and heavy whipping cream. The ratio can depend on what you plan to do with it, but usually, you’ll use a 1:1 ratio of chocolate to cream.
When you pour hot cream over chopped chocolate, the cream melts the chocolate. Then as you keep stirring, it comes together into a rich, creamy mixture that’s called ganache. Let it cool to room temperature for a bit, just until thick enough that it won’t run off the cookies when you fill them.
Assemble the Cookie Sandwiches.
Turn half the cookies over. Use a spoon to spoon a small amount of the ganache on the bottoms of the cookies, then top with a second cookie, pressing down slightly until the ganache reaches the edge.
At this point, I like to refrigerate the cookie sandwiches to speed up the process of firming up the ganache. Once firm, I keep them stored in an airtight container at room temperature if we’re going to eat them immediately, or frozen for several months.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
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High Altitude Peanut Butter Ganache Cookie Sandwiches
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
Ingredients
Cookies
- ¾ cup (198g) creamy peanut butter (not all-natural)
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup (108g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (80g) dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 (55g) large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups (163g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup (53g) old-fashioned oats
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Ganache
- 2 oz (57g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 oz (61ml) heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the peanut butter, butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed for about five minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Scrape the bowl down and beat in the egg and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients by spoonfuls, just until combined.
- Chill the dough for several hours, then preheat the oven to 375. Roll the chilled dough into 3 dozen balls, making sure they're all the same size, and coat each ball in sugar. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, two inches apart, and flatten slightly with a fork.
- Bake until pale golden brown, about 7-8 minutes. Cool for several minutes on the pan, then carefully transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Warm the cream until it simmers, then pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let stand for three minutes, then stir until smooth and thick. Let thicken slightly at room temperature.
- Turn half the cookies over so the bottoms are facing up. Spoon the ganache onto the cookies. Let it set for a few minutes, then carefully place a second cookie on the ganache to make a sandwich. Refrigerate until firm.
- Yields about 3 dozen cookies / 1 1/2 dozen cookie sandwiches
Planning to make these! Are the oats a must though?
If you leave them out, I’d increase the flour by 1/4 cup. I haven’t made them without the oats, but hopefully that adjustment works for you!