A bakery cookie can come as a revelation, or it can be a dud.

I once got a chocolate chip cookie at a local bakery that, when I went to split with my 3yo daughter, shattered into a hundred dry and crumbly pieces. That was a dud.

Two years ago I wrote about our quick 2-day trip down to the Florida Keys, where I had my first and only Matheessen’s cookie. It was the size of my outstretched hand, big and soft and full of peanut butter flavor, topped with a slather of dense and chewy chocolate fudge. The man behind the counter explained how they used to top their peanut butter cookies with chocolate frosting, which proved a bit of a mess. The cookies stacked for display would stick together and the frosting would smear. Then one day the owner was inspired to take their housemade fudge and slather a bit on top just before it set. The resulting cookie was a revelation.

Back at home in my kitchen I’ve been haunted by the memory of this cookie experience and determined to recreate it. After comparing several peanut butter cookie recipes I finally decided on a tweaked version of this one from Toast the Host. It’s heavenly.

As far as the fudge goes, I was hesitant to go with a classic fudge recipe. Fudge is notoriously finicky. It’s one thing to have some on hand to smear on a cookie, it’s another thing to make a batch of fudge specifically for a cookie. In the end I opted for a quick and easy cream cheese based “fudge” recipe from my childhood. It’s fast and straightforward and the cream cheese offers a subtle tang that’s a nice complement to the peanut butter cookie beneath. And more importantly, the fudge sets up chewy but firm, unlike a chocolate frosting.

One more thing: I recall the Matheessen cookie being enormous, bigger than a salad plate. There’s something thrilling about buying a cookie the size of your face from a bakery, but it’s maybe a bit over the top for a home kitchen, so I scaled these down a tad. But don’t worry! They are still plenty huge. They just aren’t so huge that you’ll feel bad about eating one—or two—in a single sitting. Okay, maybe two is too many. But one you can certainly handle.

fudge frosted bakery-style big & soft peanut butter cookies

makes 12-14 large cookies

Ingredients:

[for the cookies]

• 2 sticks (8 oz) salted butter

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 3/4 cup white sugar

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter

• 2 eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

[for the fudge]

• 4 oz. cream cheese

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

• 2 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Make the cookies. Brown the butter by placing it in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, swirling the pan gently, until it ceases splattering and bubbling and begins to turn a beautiful golden-amber color. Butter can go from browned to burned quickly, so keep a close eye on it. Remove from heat and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

2. In another mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, corn starch and salt. Set aside.

3. Using a paddle attachment, beat the slightly cooled browned butter with brown and white sugars until well combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat at medium speed until combined. Scrape down bowl, add flour mixture, and mix at low speed until just combined. Don’t over-mix; you can leave a few flour streaks and just use a spatula to finish stirring the dough by hand.

4. Shape and chill cookies. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Use a 1/4-cup measuring cup to measure out cookie dough and tap/bang it out on prepared baking sheet, leaving it mounded up. (See photo above.) You can fit about 6 cookies on a single cookie sheet. Place in the fridge and let chill for 30 minutes.

5. Make fudge. While the cookies chill, melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler on the stove or in the microwave stirring between short 10-second bursts. Set aside to cool. Use a stand mixer or electric beater to beat the cream cheese for a minute or two to soften and loosen until creamy. Add powdered sugar and beat well. Add cooled melted chocolate and cocoa powder and beat until creamy and combined. Set aside.

6. Bake cookies. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. When shaped dough has chilled, remove from fridge and press down lightly on each cookie to flatten ever so slightly—not too much! (I tried these without pressing down and the cookies, although remaining very thick and soft, were a bit too underdone at the center.) Bake at 350 degrees until the edges just begin to turn golden and the center looks just set, but still soft, about 12-15 minutes. You really don’t want to overbake these so I’d err on the side of just underbaked. Remove and let cool on pans 5-10 minutes.

7. Frost with fudge. When the cookies have cooled slightly but are still warm, top each with a tablespoon or so of fudge. The heat of the cookie will warm it up a little to make it spread more easily. Use a spoon or offset spatula to spread and swirl fudge evenly across top of each cookie. Let cookies cool completely and fudge set before serving.

notes

• why brown the butter? well, first of all cookie recipes are way more convenient when you can melt butter straight from the fridge and don’t need to wait for the butter to soften. My hands down favorite chocolate chip recipe follows this method, and let’s say I’m a huge fan. But really, heating the butter removes some of the excess water-moisture, which will help these cookies stay big and soft and NOT spread too much when they are cooking. And taking it all the way to browned butter removes even more moisture AND brings a wonderful nuttiness to the finished cookie.

• Storage. Once completely cool and the fudge sets, these cookies can be stacked for serving or storing. They maintain their softness well and should be fine on the counter for several hours. Keep longer in an airtight container—the sugar in the cream cheese fudge will help it keep at room temperature for at least a day or two, but if that makes you feel uneasy you can always pop them in the fridge. These are delicious warm from the oven, very good later in the day, amazing late at night, and maybe even the best the next day for breakfast. Longer than that…I really couldn’t tell you.

Cookies inspired by Matheessen’s Peanut Butter Cookie with Fudge, and cookie base recipe adapted from Toast the Host.