DIY Recipe: Magic in the Middle (Peanut Butter) Cookies

There is this one place in Long Beach called Deli News that I enjoy going to- not for the pizza, or the pasta, but for Magic in the Middle Cookies. They are amazingly delicious and are, in fact, magic. I decided to make them myself and I always seem to choose the greatest day to bake...meaning the very few days a year my apartment feels extremely hot.

MAGIC IN THE MIDDLE (PEANUT BUTTER) COOKIES

SERVINGS: ~15 COOKIES            PREP TIME: ~30 MIN 

INGREDIENTS:

For Chocolate Dough:

1/2 C (1 stick) softened, unsalted butter

1/4 C peanut butter

1/4 C granulated sugar

3/4 C brown sugar

1 tsp of vanilla bourbon extract (from TJs, just vanilla extract is OK too)

1/4 tsp espresso powder

1 large egg

1-1/2 C all purpose flour

1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Optional: sea salt to sprinkle on the top of the cookies

For Peanut Butter Filling:

1/2 C peanut butter

1/2 C confectioners sugar

1/4 tsp honey

1/4 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Make peanut butter filling mix by mixing peanut butter, confectioners sugar, honey and cinnamon together.

3. Roll peanut butter mixture into ~1 inch diameter balls. (I originally used, 3/4 C peanut butter and 3/4 C sugar and I had too many balls left over compared to the dough). I placed them in the refrigerator while I made the dough.

4. In mixer, cream soft butter and peanut butter together. Then add sugar, followed by vanilla mixed with a little espresso powder and the egg.

5. Make sure to sift all the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon) and then add it slowly to the the mixer.

6. Take a spoonful of the dough and place it in your hand. Pat it out and make a thumb imprint in the middle.

7. Place a peanut butter ball in the middle of the dough  and cover the ball with the dough until it isn't seen!

8. Flatten it out to look like a cookie and place on a tray with parchment paper. Sprinkle some sea salt on top of the cookies.

9. Put them in the oven and wait 7-9 minutes before taking them out!

And, voila! You are done and have some delicious cookies to eat.

These cookies are pretty delicious and hit the spot. I modified the recipe from what I've seen traditionally, by adding ingredients like honey, cinnamon, espresso, and sea salt. I felt like the flavors blended well together. Another ingredient I was contemplating to add was semisweet chocolate chips to the cookie dough, but I wasn't sure if it would be too rich. These cookies were so good that  I couldn't stop eating them and had to bring them into work to share with others because I didn't trust myself to be alone with the cookies anymore. 

And boy oh boy are taking quality photos of food difficult. I really admire food photographers now.