Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

It is about time for some serious dark chocolate business around here.

***RANT WARNING***I have posted a shocking amount (okay, 2) of recipes including white chocolate already... shocking because for a long time I have turned my nose up to white chocolate. I think I have done so because white chocolate is a lie in that it is not technically even chocolate. I have (sometimes too passionately) argued this scientific fact with friends. It does not contain any cocoa solids, only the fat that is pressed out of cocoa nibs to make REAL chocolate. However I suppose you do need to use cocoa beans in order to procure white chocolate, and perhaps if we just consider white chocolate a thing on it's own and not compare it to the wonderful deep dark real-deal chocolate, it is okay, and okay to enjoy. 

There, I had to get that off my chest, and I feel better.

But back to my roots and the soul of my very being, which I'm pretty sure is made of dark chocolate. I am a proud chocoholic, lover of all things bittersweet and a true believer that the darker the chocolate, the better.
Join me, if you will, on the dark side.

These cookies invited one of dark chocolate's best friends over for a play-date and they got up to NO GOOD. Luckily for us it's the delicious kind of no good. That's right, peanut butter. When peanut butter and chocolate get together to play, it's hard for it not to be a good day.
Cookies filled with cocoa AND dark chocolate chunks, peanuts AND swirled with peanut butter... HELLO!
These cookies will be as good as the ingredients you use to make them. For me that means using the good dark dark chocolate, salted peanuts, and all-natural peanut butter. Amen.
Prep your milk glasses for dunkin', folks.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Recipe from ​Mast Brothers Chocolate

• 1/2 cup butter (4 ounces) room temperature
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/2 ounces dark chocolate chopped (or chocolate chips)
• 1 cup chopped peanuts
• 1/2 cup all natural peanut butter
• 1 chunk of good quality dark chocolate for each cookie

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking trays with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs until well blended.
3. Add the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda until just combined. Stir in the chocolate, chopped peanuts and peanut butter. I like to just barely stir in the peanut butter, so it almost marbles the cookie dough. Be sure not to over-mix.
4. Scoop tablespoon sized balls of dough onto the prepared baking trays. Press a chunk of dark chocolate into the centre of each cookie. Bake for about 10-12 minutes until cookies are just set around the edges but still soft. Savour with a cold glass of milk ;)