Let me just start this off by saying, "I do not like Peanut Butter." But I actually LOVED this bake! The chocolate cookies and the Peanut Butter balance each other out in a way. I found this recipe from Martha Stewart's CAKES, but adapted some parts as I went along.
I first had to make the cookies. The recipe called for store bought cookies, but I couldn't find them so I made them myself and used Cooking Channel's homemade chocolate wafer cookies. Once I mixed the ingredients together I made the dough into a ball and left them in the refrigerator for an hour. After an hour I rolled the cookie dough out and cut them with a circle cookie cutter. I left them to bake for eight minutes, and then flipped racks and baked for an additional two minutes. Leave to cool.
As the cookies were baking I made the whipped cream. I stirred the peanut butter until it was smooth and creamy. Then I beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar until it turned into soft peaks. I added the peanut butter in and folded it together.
I layered a the whipped cream onto a plate and then added four cookies. (Yes my cookies were gigantic) I repeated this process until I ran out of cookies. Make sure not to stack the cookies but rather place them unevenly!
RECIPE:
Cookies:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
Steps:
Cream together the butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until light, about 2 minutes.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, soda and salt. If there are any lumps of cocoa powder, sift the dry ingredients before adding to the butter.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix just to combine. Add the milk and mix just to combine.
Form the dough into two 1 1/2-inch-thick logs. Wrap well in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
To bake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
Slice the log of cookie dough into 1/8-inch-thick coins.
Arrange on the baking sheets with about 1 1/2 inches between the cookies. Bake for 8 minutes and then rotate the trays back to front and switch from top and bottom racks. Bake for another 2 minutes or until they are dry looking and firm. Because the cookies are so dark, you can't go by color on these.
Peanut Butter Whipped Cream:
2 cups heavy whipping cream - well chilled
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1/3 cup natural style peanut butter (not unsalted)
STEPS:
With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk 1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream with the powdered sugar until soft peaks form. In another bowl, whisk peanut butter until soft and smooth; whisk in remaining 1/2 cup cream until light and fluffy. Fold in peanut butter mixture into whipped cream until incorporated.
Dab the bottom of 4 cookies with a very small amount of cream. Then layer cookie and cream over and over until finished with the cookies. (Make sure that the cookies are sitting uneven.) Then cut three cookies in half and decorate into a star.
Refrigerate for at least 8 hours (or overnight)
Enjoy!
- The Bored Baker