Chocolate Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
The Stock Pot: Sweet Treats – Chocolate Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
I can’t seem to leave well-enough alone. You see, I wanted to bake something sweet for the guys who take care of our yard – usually they just “mow, blow and go,” but will occasionally stick around to do extra stuff when asked. And, the other day they did yeoman’s service for me by dumping out the swamp water that was housing God-only-knows-what underneath all the slimy leaves and debris of our side yard pond that had accumulated over the past two years. Maybe it’s just a Southern thing – I mean, after all, we do pay for their additional efforts, of course, but it just seems fitting to go the extra mile and thank them for undertaking a pretty nasty supplemental job, if you ask me. I wasn’t about to stick my hand in there to unclog the fountain. Our resident frog seems much happier now, too, thanks to their obliging, so a little lovin’ from the oven was definitely due.
At first, I thought I’d make the Peanut Butter-Toffee Cookies from the latest cookbook, which is a tweaked version from my first cookbook. Then, I started thinking about chocolate and how chocolate and peanut butter should be its own food group in a perfect world (they’re “MFEO” - extra points if you can name that movie!) and my chocolate madness kind of spun from there. I added some cocoa powder to the mix, lost the molasses and toffee bits; folded in some white chocolate chips and mini semi-sweet ones; smashed the dough balls into some crushed salted peanuts and finally studded the tops with extra chocolate chips. They are dangerously good. But you know what I love most? The fact that you can take a “keeper” recipe, add a few things and have a completely different version when all’s said and done. How lovely.
*Updated 6-13-14 – The amount of flour: 1 cup
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- ½ cup smooth peanut butter
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips, plus more for the tops
- 1 cup coarsely chopped peanuts
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugars and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, mixing well. Beat in the vanilla. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips; mix until combined. Chill the dough until firm enough to handle, about an hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls; place the peanuts in a bowl. Drop the dough balls into the peanuts, pressing down to flatten the cookie. Press the peanuts to adhere to both sides. Stud the tops with a few more chocolate chips and place 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 11 to 12 minutes. Cool in the pan for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Planning: The dough will keep for several days well-covered in the refrigerator.
Product Purity: Better ingredients = better food. Upgrade your cocoa powder to a brand like Valrhona and use only pure vanilla extract for best results.
Presentation: Texture is appetizing. And part of what makes homemade so appealing is that each cookie looks different. I used a mix of white chocolate chips and miniature semi-sweet chips on my cookies.
Content and photography © 2014 Hutchstone, LLC. All rights reserved.
You might also like:
Fudgy Peanut Butter Brownies
Peanut Butter-Toffee Cookies
Lindy’s Sour Cream Pound Cake
Strawberry Napoleon
Content and photography © 2014 Hutchstone, LLC. All rights reserved.
The post The Stock Pot – Sweet Treats – Chocolate Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies appeared first on Picture-Perfect Meals.
