GIANT CHOCOLATE AND PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE

Giant Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cookie image

This shortbread is like a huge, sliceable Girl Scout cookie. (You're welcome!) An easy shortbread is topped with a layer of peanut butter frosting, blanketed with a thick chocolate glaze, then chilled until set. Brown sugar helps keep the shortbread soft, and coconut oil does the same for the chocolate coating, so the whole thing is easy to cut with a knife and eat with a fork. Be sure to use bar chocolate, not chips - which don't melt as evenly - so your chocolate glaze ends up shiny and smooth.

Provided by Erin Jeanne McDowell

Categories snack, cakes, cookies and bars, dessert

Time 50m

Yield One 9-inch cookie (about 12 servings)

Number Of Ingredients 14

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup/225 grams unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
1/2 cup/110 grams light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups/320 grams all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 tablespoons/85 grams unsalted butter (3/4 stick), at room temperature
1 1/2 cups/360 milliliters creamy peanut butter (not natural)
1 1/3 cups/135 grams sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of fine sea salt
12 ounces/340 grams chopped semisweet bar chocolate
1 tablespoon coconut oil
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Steps:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray.
Prepare the shortbread: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.
Reduce the speed to low. Add the flour and salt and mix until evenly combined. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Prick the shortbread all over with a fork.
Bake until the shortbread is baked through, set and lightly golden, 22 to 26 minutes. Cool completely, and remove the outer ring from the springform pan. Place on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet.
Wipe out the bowl of the mixer, and make the peanut butter filling: Using the paddle attachment, cream the butter, peanut butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the vanilla and salt and mix to combine.
Spread on top of the cooled shortbread, leaving it slightly more mounded in the center than at the edges. Transfer to the refrigerator while you make the glaze.
Place a medium heat-safe bowl over a medium pot of simmering water. Add the chocolate, coconut oil and cream to the bowl and heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is melted and fluid. (Alternatively, the mixture can be microwaved in a microwave-safe container in 15-second bursts, stirring after each burst until the mixture is fully melted.) Cool for 5 minutes.
Pour the glaze over the cooled cookie, using a small offset spatula to help coat the edges evenly as needed. If necessary, you can collect the glaze that runs off the cookie onto the baking sheet and pour back over to glaze any missed spots.
Once the cookie is fully glazed, use a large spatula to transfer it to a platter. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill completely for 45 minutes before slicing with a serrated knife and serving. Store, covered, at room temperature for up to 3 days.