Chocolate chip cookie dough peanut butter cups
Attention chocolate and peanut butter fans: this is your nirvana dessert. I don’t think I have ever had chocolate and peanut butter in a better combination than this. These are like an exciting peanut butter take on the chocolate chip cookie dough truffles I also greatly enjoy. Technically they require no baking but they do require a bit of extra time just assembling the cups. However, it is beyond worth it: it’s like a Reese’s cup but a million times better and incorporates dark chocolate and eggless cookie dough. Yum.
You will need a mini muffin pan to create these and if it’s not silicone make sure you have little liners as well. The finished product is small but packs a huge punch of sugary peanut butter chocolate goodness. Having one after dinner or lunch is the perfect ending to a meal. They aren’t an ideal gift since they need to be stored in the fridge or freezer, but bring them into your office and you’ll probably make some new friends…
Chocolate chip cookie dough peanut butter cups (adapted from How Sweet It Is)
Ingredients – makes 24 cups
2 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I obviously used dark but you can use milk)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I actually only had crunchy so I used that and it was fine – I actually liked the little extra crunch it gave)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (mini is key for maximum cuteness effect)
In a small saucepan, heat butter until melted. Whisk in brown sugar until dissolved, then let it bubble for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in peanut butter. The mixture will be liquid-y but that’s fine. Whisk in vanilla. Let sit and cool completely, about 20 minutes.
Line a mini muffin tin with liners. If you have a silicone pan you won’t need them though it may take a bit of extra time to pop them out at the end. Melt 1 1/4 cups of chocolate chips (I do mine in the microwave – just be careful to not let it burn). Drop 1/2-1 teaspoon of chocolate into each liner, then use a pastry brush to brush chocolate up the sides of the liner. Naturally I am a sad excuse for a pastry chef and don’t even have a pastry brush, so basically used a spoon. This is totally fine. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes. By this point the butter + sugar mix should be cool. Whisk in the remaining ingredients – powdered sugar, salt and flour – until combined and few lumps remain. Fold in mini chocolate chips. The dough will be wet, but pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes to harden.
Remove muffin tin and cookie dough, then place 1 teaspoon of cookie dough (I somewhat rolled mine) into the chocolate cups. Place back in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Melt the remaining chocolate chips, then cover each cookie dough top with chocolate, smoothing with a spoon. Freeze again for 15-20 minutes. These are fine out in room temperature for a few hours (they may soften a bit) but I think they are probably best stored in the fridge or if you are keeping them for longer, the freezer.
Melting that butter
Adding in the brown sugar and peanut butter
Coating the mini muffin pan with melted chocolate. If you have a normal pan then you definitely need liners, but if you have silicone pans like this you can just coat the mini muffin cups with chocolate directly and even though it seems impossible they will pop out when they’re done!
Once the melted butter and peanut mixture is cool, add the other ingredients to make the filling
Once the dough has hardened in the fridge a bit, scoop out little balls and put them in the chocolate coated cups
Freeze them again, remove from the freezer, coat with more chocolate, and return to the freezer until they’ve hardened all the way
Lovely finished product!
These are just ABSURDLY good. Yeah, they require a fair amount of freezer time and the removal of the little cups from the muffin tins can take a bit of a time too, but they are supremely addictive and you’ll want more than one even though they are quite rich. (That’s never stopped me.) They will keep in the freezer for a while, so if unlike me you actually have self control, you could have one of these delectable treats each day for a while. Or if you are more like me, get them out of your home fast and distribute them. Others will be very grateful!
merrifood 