The pairing of peanut butter and chocolate has been one of America’s favorite flavor combinations for years, and my Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies are a special Valentine’s Day treat you can share with those that you love…or make just for yourself!
I’ve always cherished the classic Peanut Butter cookie. Did you know the first commercial recipe was published before WW 1? No wonder they have been a generational favorite.
I remember as a tyke in my parents mid-century home it seemed that we had an endless supply of these cookies in my Mom’s aqua kitchen. And they were always ready to be served after school with a tall glass of Borden’s Milk. (We had a Milkman and a Milk Box on the porch, did you?)
I’m always asked why is the hash-mark design used for decoration on Peanut Butter Cookies. Well, it wasn’t really a decoration. It was to assist in pushing down the dough so the cookies would bake evenly. I’ve always used a vintage family heirloom Rodger’s Brother’s silver fork dipped in ice water to do the trick.
Here is the original recipe with a few bungalow twists for Valentine’s Day. I’m sure your family will love these and they’re great for gifts as well! Heck, they’re worth making if it’s just for yourself! Enjoy.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 12 oz tempered dark chocolate, for dipping
Preparation
- 1 In a large mixing bowl whisk all dry ingredients together (flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda).
- 2 Beat the two eggs well.
- 3 Using a medium size mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter together, adding the eggs and peanut butter then mix until fluffy.
- 4 Add the dry ingredients to the egg and butter mixture and blend well.
- 5 Portion dough into 1 ¼ inch balls and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat until all the dough is portioned.
- 6 Using the back side of a glass or coffee mug press down the dough ball until it’s nearly 1.75 inches in diameter. Using a back side of a wooden spoon indent the top of each cookie to create the double crescent shape of the top of a heart.
- 7 Using your fingers, taper the bottom of each dough portion to a “V” shape.
- 8 Using a fork dipped in ice water, create the traditional hash tags marks in each cookie.
- 9 Bake at 350 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes. Watch very closely as they have a tendency to brown very quickly. Let cool, remove and place on wire racks for one hour.
- 10 Using your tempered chocolate or chocolate compound, dip half of the hearts into the chocolate and let set.
- 11 Enjoy with a cold glass of milk! Happy Valentine’s Day!
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