Double chocolate peanut butter surprises
By Tali Simon | December 29, 2011
At 6 a.m. on Tuesday this week, I got a text message from my due-any-day-now friend. She had given birth to a boy! Yay!
I’m still not sure what’s more amazing: The fact that I heard my phone go off at 6 a.m., or the fact that I managed to comprehend her Hebrew text AND reply before rolling over and going back to sleep.
When I woke up later, I wasn’t sure whether I’d dreamed the whole thing. But I checked my phone and…yep! She had the baby, alright!
Now I had two baking assignments: the shalom zachar would be taking place Friday night and the bris would follow on Monday. And because the bris is going to be fleishig (only in Israel…), everything has to be pareve.
This is something of a challenge for me, a person of limited pareve baking supplies. For example: I have no way of melting chocolate without making it dairy, but I just couldn’t get cake pops off the brain.
I think I watched, like, six YouTube videos on making cake pops. This was a very good use of my time, I assure you.
Anyway, I’ll be bringing a plate of these double chocolate peanut butter surprises over for the shalom zachor, and I have to say, they’re pretty awesome. Plus they have the blue sprinkles. I really needed something blue for the little guy.
If you like chocolate and peanut butter (and who doesn’t?) you really need to try these. They’re intensely chocolatey and intensely peanut buttery, all at the same time. They’re moist, they’re chewy, and yes, they’re gooey (or at least they were straight out of the oven).
If these weren’t going to a shalom zachar, I’d probably bring along a bag of milk.
Ingredients Directions 1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Sift together flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda. Set that aside, too. 2. Using a hand-held electric mixer or a stand mixer, beat margarine, ½ cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until fully combined between additions. Add vanilla and mix again. 3. Gradually add dry ingredients, mixing on low speed until fully combined (if you’re using a hand-held mixer, you may need to switch to mixing with your hands toward the end). Add chocolate chips and mix again to evenly distribute. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill 15 minutes to firm slightly. Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C about 5 minutes before done. 4. In a small bowl, stir together peanut butter and remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar. 5. Drop 1 tablespoon of the dough at a time onto baking sheets, spacing cookies about 2 inches apart. Make a thumbprint in the center of each cookie and fill it with the peanut butter mixture (don’t use too much, or it will spill out). Top with a second tablespoon of carefully shaped dough. Mold dough to cover the surprise. Note: This makes pretty big cookies. For smaller cookies like the ones pictured, use half-tablespoons of dough instead. 6. If you like, dip the tops of the cookies in sprinkles. Bake until firm, about 12 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let cool at least 5 minutes before moving.
Adapted from Martha Stewart
5 Comments
Laura on December 30, 2011 at 3:35 am.
Mazel tov! These look delicious. But, why can’t you melt pareve chocolate?
Tali Simon on December 30, 2011 at 9:43 am.
Nothing to melt in it…no microwave, no pareve pots or heat-resistant bowls to make a double boiler. Building up my supply a bit at a time, but until then — no melted chocolate!
Laura on January 1, 2012 at 4:02 am.
You can melt in the oven using a small foil loaf pan. Use low heat. Chocolate melts at a pretty low temperature. It will even melt in a turned off oven that is just a little warm.
Tali Simon on January 1, 2012 at 9:05 am.
You might have just won a free T-shirt.
Shaindy on December 30, 2011 at 4:15 am.
yummm… those look delish! My favorite combination- chocolate and peanut butter!