Cookie #15 - Chocolate Peanut Butter

Whenever I bite into a frozen Reese's Peanut Butter cup, I'm instantly transported back to the summers of my younger days at our community pool.  The snack bar sold frozen candy bars and next to Snickers, Reese's were my favorite.  I love peanut butter.  I could eat a whole jar with a spoon.

For the chocolate/peanut butter combination, I didn't want to just slap some peanut butter on a chocolate cookie.  Enter:  chocolate peanut butter ganache.  The cookie dough really lends itself to being formed in various shapes, so I utilized a mini muffin pan to make the cup shape. Here's how I did it:

1 recipe for Chocolate Wafer Cookies

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup confectioner's sugar

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup roasted, salted peanuts

Make the cookie recipe as directed.  After slicing roughly 1/4" thick, place each slice in the cup of a mini-muffin tin.  Press down gently to mold the dough to the shape of the cup.  Bake for 6 minutes at 350 degrees, rotate pan and continue baking for another 6 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven.  If the cookies are still puffy, that's okay.  Just smoosh them down using the back of a spoon or this nifty tart shaper.  Allow the cookies to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling. 

In the meantime, make the ganache:

Combine heavy cream, unsalted butter and confectioner's sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Watch carefully. stirring often, as you heat the cream until the butter is melted and bubbles are forming around the sides of the pan.  You don't want to bring it to a boil - you'll risk scorching the milk. 

In a heat safe bowl, add chocolate chips and peanut butter.

Once the milk is hot, pour over the chocolate chips/peanut butter and start whisking.  Keep whisking until the chocolate and peanut butter are melted and the mixture is glossy.  This may take a few minutes, so be patient.  Set the bowl aside to cool. 

Once your cookie cups are cooled, pour the chocolate peanut butter ganache into each of the cups until they're just under full.  Garnish with peanuts. 

You can refrigerate these to get the ganache to set up to a truffle like consistency, or leave them at room temperature and they'll be just slightly runny and delicious.  I kind of like the more liquidy filling.  It coats your tastebuds just right.