Peanut-Butter Stuffed Chocolate Cookies
My cooking style is very conceptual. When I am in my own kitchen, I will read over a recipe and then kind of wing it. Knowing what foods pair, blend, enhance and contrast each other is a skill that I have unintentionally honed over the years. Baking on the other hand, is not a natural talent for me. I was an avid home economist student and even thought that this would be my career, so I know that baking is more like a science experiment where elements must interact and react in a certain fashion. This is why ingredients need to be precisely measured in order to produce the desired effect.
There are two men in my family who are great bakers. My husband D will whip up a batch of amazing cookies some evening, just because he has a hankering for something sweet. His Mom is a fabulous baker too, so this trait in genetic, I suppose.
The second man is the beau of Daughter #2 and I call him the Frenchman. He often arrives at our home with a package of sweets for his sweetheart and a separate package for us to share. These qualities seem like a contradiction in terms because he is as big as a bear (and likely as strong) and yet he is a an artiste and crafts-person (usually in wood or metal) but apparently too in the kitchen. I have already blogged about this delicious cookie but I have modified it for this purpose switching out the margarine with canola oil.
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- 1½ cups flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup canola oil
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cup icing sugar
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Stir together flour, cocoa and baking soda.
- Cream together the canola oil, sugar, brown sugar and ¼ cup peanut butter until fluffy.
- Beat in egg, milk and vanilla.
- On low speed, beat in flour mixture.
- Batter will be thick.
- With your hands, form the dough into 32 balls and set aside.
- For filling, stir together icing sugar and ½ cup peanut butter.
- Shape this mixture into 32 balls also (they will be smaller).
- Slightly flatten each chocolate ball and top with peanut butter ball.
- Pull chocolate dough over peanut butter to cover completely and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
- Lightly flatten with the bottom of a glass dipped in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
- Bake for 8 minutes or until just set.
- Cool on pan 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to finish cooling.
These will be served tonight after our weekly “mandatory Sunday supper” which all the kids including the Frenchman are required to attend. Tonight D’s “Baking Mom Extraordinaire” will be at the table too. We’ll see how my cookies turn out under the scrutiny of this distinguished panel of judges.
I am using this recipe to enter a baking contest, initiated by the Manitoba Canola Growers www.blog.canolarecipes.ca in the hopes of attending a Food Bloggers of Canada Conference this spring www.foodbloggersofcanada.com. The event takes place in Hockley Ontario, which means that I will also be able to visit the family of the Frenchman. I will get to see first hand if his baking skills are genetic too.
Kath’s quote: “Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.”-Charles M. Schulz
Love-that is all.
These sound amazing Kathryne! I can’t wait to try out the recipe.
Be Well…Jenn
I was really pleased with how easy it was to convert margarine to canola oil.
omg, Kathryne, you know how much Jenn and I love peanut butter and chocolate together! Good luck with the My cookies are the Best contest!
Yes I know but that did not influence my recipe choice one bit (sheepish look).