Dark Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies Recipe

I've found that baking is very calming. Perhaps it's the fact that baking is a structured task that forces you to focus on what's right in front of you and doesn't let your mind wander to the 5000 other things going on in your life, but what do I know? It's not like I'm a therapist or anything. Whatevs, I digress. This past Sunday I got the ravenous urge for girl scout cookies. Dosido's to be exact; I wanted those peanut butter sandwich cookies in and around my mouth ASAP. 

Dark Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookie Topped with Sea Salt

My only problem is that girl scout cookie season ended in South Florida a couple of months ago, so what was I to do?? After a couple of minutes looking on ebay for girl scout cookies, I decided to just bake my little heart out.

Once I completed the peanut butter sandwich cookies and I basked in the glory of my baking accomplishment, I was suddenly had the urge to dunk the peanut butter sandwich cookies in dark chocolate and sprinkle them with sea salt. These cookie sandwiches suddenly sky rocketed from delicious to OMFG.

So I feel it's my duty to share with you the recipe, because this much awesome should be enjoyed by everyone.

Ingredients:
For the cookies:
- 1 Cup Butter (NO SUBSTITUTES)
- 1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
- 1 Cup White Granulated Sugar
- 1 Cup Packed Dark Brown Sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste (vanilla extract will work too)
- 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 2 Tablespoons of Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt

For the filling:
- ½ Cup of Creamy Peanut Butter
- 3 Cups Confectioners' Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste (vanilla extract will work too)
- 2 Tablespoons of Honey
- 5 Tablespoons Milk

For the chocolate dip:
- 1 10oz Package of Dark Chocolate Chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate chips)
- ½ Cup of Boiling Milk
- Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line to baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, vanilla instant pudding mix and salt then set the bowl aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, vanilla bean paste and sugar until fluffy and well incorporated. Beat in eggs one at a time into the peanut butter mixture. Once combined, slowly add the flour mixture and mix well. 

Using a tablespoon, scoop the dough and roll into one inch balls. Place the balls about two inches apart on the baking sheet. Using a fork, lightly press down on the peanut butter balls to flatten them out. Place them in the oven and bake for 7 minutes. Once removed from the oven, move the cookies to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely. 

While your cookies are baking, make your sandwich filling. Combine the peanut butter, confectioner's sugar, honey, vanilla bean paste and milk. Whisk ingredients until they reach the consistency of a spreadable cream. 

Once the cookies have completely cooled down, scoop one tablespoon of cream filling to half of the cookies. Be sure to place the filling on the bottom side and set it down on parchment paper.