cookie calendar - day 1: peanut-butter stuffed chocolate cookies

I was introduced to Kathryne and her blog, Food Musings, because we're both Canadian Beef Ambassadors. I finally got to meet the bubbly Canadian at the recent ShesConnected Conference here in Toronto back in September where we chatted beef, got false eyelashes and bonded over a beer and cheese tasting.

Just a quick glance at Kathryne's blog tells you what a force of energy she is. Not only does she blog and tweet, she also runs her own media consulting company called The Media Chef! She's definitely fully immersed in the food industry, so I was really happy when she agreed to share this delicious recipe with me for my Cookie Advent Calendar.

I haven't had a chance to make these yet, but Kathryne assures me the cookies taste just like chocolate peanut butter cups, so they are definitely on my list of must-tries!

Enjoy!

You can connect with Kathryne by visiting:
Website: www.foodmusings.ca and www.boomchicaboom.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Food-Musings/258568288878
Twitter: @foodmusings

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My cooking style is very conceptual. When I am in my own kitchen, I will read over a recipe and then kind of wing it. Knowing what foods pair, blend, enhance and contrast each other is a skill that I have unintentionally honed over the years. Baking on the other hand, is not a natural talent for me. I was an avid home economist student and even thought that this would be my career, so I know that baking is more like a science experiment where elements must interact and react in a certain fashion.

There are two men in my family who are great bakers. My husband Doug will whip up a batch of amazing cookies some evening, just because he has a hankering for something sweet. His Mom is a fabulous baker too, so this trait in genetic, I suppose.

The second man is the beau of my youngest daughter and I call him the Frenchman. He often arrives at our home with a package of sweets for his sweetheart and a separate package for us to share. These qualities seem like a contradiction in terms because he is as big as a bear (and likely as strong) and yet he is a an artiste and crafts-person (usually in wood or metal) but apparently too in the kitchen.

“Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.” - Charles M. Schulz

Love - that is all.

peanut-butter stuffed chocolate cookies
printer-friendly version

ingredients:

1/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons sugar

directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir together flour, cocoa and baking soda.

Cream together the canola oil, sugar, brown sugar and 1/4 cup peanut butter until fluffy.

Beat in egg, milk and vanilla.

On low speed, beat in flour mixture. Batter will be thick.

With your hands, form the dough into 32 balls and set aside.

For filling, stir together icing sugar and 1/2 cup peanut butter.

Shape this mixture into 32 balls also (they will be smaller).

Slightly flatten each chocolate ball and top with peanut butter ball.

Pull chocolate dough over peanut butter to cover completely and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Lightly flatten with the bottom of a glass dipped in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake for 8 minutes or until just set.

Cool on pan 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to finish cooling.

yields: 32 cookies

The recipe and all photos used in this blog post belong to Kathryne Grisim/Food Musings and should not be reprinted without her express permission.