Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. In another mixing bowl, beat together butter, the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and the 1/4 cup peanut butter with an electric mixer until combined. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Beat in as much of the dry ingredients as you can with mixer. Stir in remaining dry ingredients by hand with a wooden spoon. A powerful Kitchen-Aid mega mixer could be used the entire time I'm sure. Form chocolate dough into 32 balls about 1-1/4 inches in diameter.

For peanut butter filling, in a medium mixing bowl combine powdered sugar and the remaining 1/2 cup peanut butter until smooth. (I don't know if this was a factor or not, but I used chunky peanut butter and the mix didn't combine correctly. I added about another 1/8th of a cup of peanut butter and it worked up nicer) Shape mixture into 32 (3/4-inch) balls. On a work surface, slightly flatten a chocolate dough ball and top with a peanut butter ball. Shape the chocolate dough over the peanut butter filling, completely covering the filling. Roll dough into a ball. Repeat with the remaining chocolate dough and peanut butter filling balls.

This part is a little tricky - at least it was for me - so I took pictures as I went:

1. Original ball of chocolate dough

2. Flatten dough ball in the palm of your hand so it makes a little "cup"

3. Put a little pile of the peanut butter mixture in the center:

4. "fold" the edges up and over the peanut butter. Its almost like flower petals closing over the mix.

Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake ‘em in for 8-10 minutes or until they’re just set and surface is slightly cracked. Let cookies stand for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to wire racks; cool. They will be slightly soft so don’t overbake!

MMMMM....

So lets see if I can get this up and running again shall we?

So I have thought a lot about what I could do with this blog - my "personal" blog. My life it seems, is the business - but I swear there are other things I do besides take pictures. Like, for example, EAT! Or more specifically, cook. And I am constantly searching for recipes - even if I have made them a hundred times. Now, if I was an organized person, I would print and laminate each individual recipe card and have a cute little box where I kept them all - in alphabetical order and cross referenced by main ingredients. Me? Not going to happen. But I can bookmark my blog and look stuff up that way.

SO! I am going to share my favorite recipes! I find them all over - recipe books, online, Alton Brown is a permanent favorite... and family ones of course! So, if you are still around - I hope you enjoy!

I am going to kick it off with one of my favorites - Chocolate Waffles!

This is my waffle maker:


I LOVE it!! My mom got it for Josh a few Christmases ago (he tends to get kitchen appliances a lot for some reason) This:

Also a HUGE hit at my house.

But back to waffles. Josh tends to like to fixate on a certain dish and make it over and over again until he finds the perfect recipe. (His Vodka Sauce is amazing) So a few years back, it was waffles. We tried every prepackaged variety on the planet, in-store, online, mail order... you name it. We settled on a few favorites - but this is mine! Courtesy of my boyfriend... I mean Hero - Alton Brown.

Ingredients

• 7 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1 1/2 cups
• 1 3/4 ounces sugar, approximately 3 tablespoons
• 1.5 ounces cocoa powder, approximately 1/2 cup
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 whole eggs, beaten
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 16 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
• 4 ounces chocolate chips, approximately 3/4 cup
• Vegetable spray, for waffle iron

Directions

Preheat waffle iron.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In another bowl beat together the eggs and melted butter and vanilla, and then add the buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir in the chocolate chips just until combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Ladle the recommended amount of waffle batter onto the center of the iron. Close the iron top and cook until the waffle is crispy on both sides and is easily removed from iron. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.

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I eat mine with Peanut Butter and whipped cream....MMMMM!!!