RECIPE | Dark Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cookies

Cookies are, in my opinion, best served fresh from the oven. Warm and gooey, who doesn’t love fresh cookies? Well, I’m here to tell you that these cookies break that rule. I mean, they were pretty delicious on the first day - but pretty intense! But the next day? Oh. My. Gosh. Amazing! The flavour is more vibrant than your regular cookies, not as sugary or sweet, more deep and rich.

And if you’re like me and you don’t like dark chocolate, never fear! Those second day cookies lose some the intense bitterness of the dark chocolate and they are simply sublime. Take my word for it guys; day 2 is the secret ‘ingredient’ for this recipe!

What You Need:
100 of unsalted butter
200g of dark chocolate
100g of crunchy peanut butter
150g of caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups of plain flour
1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of chopped roasted peanuts (unsalted)

What You Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Grease and line two baking trays with baking paper. Chop the dark chocolate into small rough pieces.
2.  Place the butter and half the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water (don’t let bowl touch the water) and stir until melted. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. (You can also do this step using the microwave for 30 seconds)
3. Mix in the peanut butter and then add in the sugar and egg. Combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa together and then stir into the chocolate mixture. Fold in half of the remaining chocolate pieces.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the chopped peanuts and remaining chocolate.
5. Take 2 teaspoons of dough and form into a ball and place on a tray lined with baking paper about 3cm apart. Gently flatten slightly with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle  the nut mixture onto each cookie and pressed into the dough. Bake for 12-15 minutes until cooked but still soft in the centre. Allow to stand on the tray for 5 minutes before transfering to a wire rack to cool completely.

Adapted from this recipe.