It's worth the allergic reaction

Now Imagine yourself biting into a delicious Reese Peanut Butter Cup, but instead of the crisp chocolate shell there is a soft chocolate, peanut butter-ey cloud? Doesn't that sound dreamy? Well guess what, it can be reality!

 

Before I go on, I must say, I'm elated I don't have a peanut allergy. The first time I had peanut butter, a life long addiction started and for 4 years my breakfast consisted of toast, peanut butter and flax. I loved every minute of it!

I don't know what happened, but recently I've taken a little break from my beloved. My breakfasts have changed and thus my peanut butter consumption has decreased dramatically. As a result we have tons of peanut butter sitting in the cupboard crying out to be loved. Hence the second thing I baked this week - something that required as much peanut butter as possible.


A lot of people ask me where I get my recipes from and it's no secret - I browse the internet! My favourite recipe site is Allrecipes.com because it's users can review recipes and suggest alterations they make and they just have a wide array of recipes. You can find a recipe for anything you want to make! So I searched peanut butter recipes on their site and came across Magic Peanut Butter Middles. Here's the recipe:

Magic Peanut Butter Middles
Makes 30 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp milk
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup peanut butter

Directions

1. In small bowl blend flour, cocoa and baking soda. Mix until well blended.
2. In large bowl beat sugar, butter and 1/4 cup peanut butter, until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg, beat. Stir in flour mixture until blended. Add the milk if the dough looks dry and is cracking. Set aside.
3. To make Filling: Combine confectioner's sugar and 3/4 cup peanut butter. Blend well.
4. Roll filling into 30 - 1 inch balls. For each cookie, with floured hands, shape about 1 Tablespoon of dough around 1 peanut butter ball, covering completely. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with glass dipped in sugar.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F for 7-9 minutes. When cookies are done, they should be set and slightly cracked.

I altered the recipe slightly based on the reviews from the website. They suggested adding 2 tbsp of milk to the dough once it was all mixed together because it was very dry. I agree, the dough is very dry and I was afraid it would crack open and I would have a peanut butter mess on my hands. Other than that, I only cut back on the sugars a bit and added a bit more peanut butter when I was measuring. Nothing too crazy!

When I was rolling the peanut butter balls and then wrapping them in the chocolate dough, all I could think to myself was 'Holy cow these are some big balls!' And, needless to say, they are! They are very rich and decadent, so if you are planning to make these and don't want a sugary peanut butter overload, I would suggest making them a little bit smaller (maybe make 30-35 peanut butter balls).

They turned out wonderfully though, which was a surprise since the recipe was so simple and straightforward. But as I'm coming to learn, the best recipes are!