Peanut butter filled double chocolate chip cookies

Just because I didn’t like something when I was young, or didn’t like it last year, doesn’t mean I won’t like it today, tomorrow or next year. Periodically I like to give my least favourite things another chance.

Who knows I may be surprised.

The latest transfer from my bench of relegation is peanut butter. At least in a chocolate smothered form (you have to start somewhere and if you ever get to try them peanut butter M&Ms are on another level).

So here is peanut butter happily smothered in thick cheewie chocolate chip cookie.

They were specially requested by a colleague and as I had seen them on Love and Olive Oil only a couple of weeks ago I had no excuse not to make them. The recipe itself is rather adapted but all the tips and tricks for successful peanut butter stuffing, like freezing the balls for 30mins to make them firm enough to handle, come from her. Plus I completely agree with her instruction- you must eat one of these straight out of the oven- they are amazing!

I wonder what I’ll decide I like next?

Recipe

Makes 24

Adapted from Love and Olive Oil

Peanut butter filling

• Beat the ingredients together and the roll into 24 balls (approximately 1cm across). Place these on a tray and freeze for at least half an hour, so that they are firm enough to handle again

Double chocolate chip cookies

• Preheat the oven to 165°C
• Beat the sugars and butter together for a few minutes until light and fluffy
• Slowly add the beaten egg then vanilla extract
• Add the flour(s), cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and beat to combine the mixture into an evenly mixed dough
• Fold in the chocolate and ball into 24 pieces (they’ll weigh 25g each if you want to be precise)
• Remove the peanut butter balls from the freezer. Break each cookie dough piece in two, roll and squish into two discs, place the peanut butter ball on one half, top with the other and pinch the edges to seal the ball in
• Place the stuffed cookie dough on a baking paper lined baking tray, sprinkle with a little salt if you like and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the edges are just firming up
• Remove from the oven (try one) and allow (the rest) to cool on the tray for 5-10mins until their bottoms have set, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling

*If you have bread flour try using replacing 60g of the plain flour with it to make a denser, chewier cookie

**The extra yolk helps to make the cookie chewier