August 20, 2010 Today I Am Baking and Thinking About Our Daughter Sarah

Today I was baking and thinking about how much I miss Sarah my youngest daughter being under foot in the kitchen. Alas Sarah is all grown up and has her own kids under her feet in her kitchen. Sarah is a great cook. She loves to bake and she still refuses to tell me her secret recipe for Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake. Sarah are you listening?
Sarah always loved Chocolate Chip Cookies so I guess that is what made me think about her so much.  Today I made two kinds of cookies. Chocolate Cookies Stuffed with Peanut Butter and a double batch of Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies (Sarah's favorite).  

Chocolate Cookies Stuffed With Peanut Butter


Makes exactly 32 cookies
Long Prep Time 40 minutes
Bake Time 8 minutes per batch


Ingredients
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup Hershey's 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 (Chunky is my favorite)
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (use natural it is better)
Filling
• 3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
Forming
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda and set aside.
3. In a large 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 egg, milk, and vanilla.
Add remaining dry ingredients ad continue to beat.
4. Form dough into 32 balls.
5. For peanut butter filling, in a medium mixing bowl combine powdered sugar and the remaining
1/2 cup peanut butter until smooth. You might need to add a bit more peanut butter.
6. Shape mixture into 32 balls.
7. 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.
8. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Lightly flatten with the bottom of a
glass dipped in the 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
9. Bake cookies in preheated oven for 8 minutes until the surface is slightly cracked. Let cookies stand for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to wire racks and cool. Makes 32 cookies.


To Store: Place in layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container.  Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.