Recipe: Peanut Butter & Chocolate Ganache Blossom Cookies

I have never been a huge fan of traditional Peanut Butter Blossom cookies (you know, the dry peanut butter cookies with a sad Hershey’s kiss in the center?) but when I saw this recipe from The Kitchn, I was intrigued at the idea of a homemade version. Any excuse to make ganache!

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Ganache Blossom Cookies (recipe by The Kitchn, slightly modified by me – makes 22 cookies)
For the chocolate ganache truffles:
1/2 cup milk or heavy cream (I used 1% milk)
1 10 oz. bag semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. espresso powder
For the peanut butter cookies:
1 stick (4 oz.) butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 egg
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1. 5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Start by making the chocolate ganache. Place the chocolate chips and espresso powder in a large bowl. Microwave the milk for 1-2 minutes. Pour the hot milk over the chips and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Place the ganache in the fridge for 30 minutes, or the freezer for 5-10, to cool.

While the ganache is cooling, make the cookie dough. Cream the butter and sugar together, add the peanut butter, then the egg, vanilla, and milk, and then mix in the dry ingredients slowly. When the dough is thoroughly combined, roll into balls and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Pop the cookies in the fridge while you do the next step.

When the ganache has cooled and solidified, it’s time to make the truffles. The Kitchn recipe has perfect looking truffles but mine didn’t work out so beautifully. In fact, they are a little dooty-esque. Oh well, still delicious!

Scoop the ganache into a plastic ziploc bag, snip the corner, and squeeze into little kiss-like shapes. If your ganache is too firm, just run the ziploc bag under warm water (don’t get the ganache wet, just the outside of the bag). The consistency of the ganache should be like Playdoh. Squeeze on to a parchment paper lined plate and then store in the fridge until the next step.

Next, bake the cookies on a parchment paper lined baking sheet at 375 degrees for 10 minutes (rotating the pans at the halfway point). Remove from the oven and promptly move the cookies to wire cooling racks.

Immediately, while they are warm, press a chocolate ganache truffle into the center of each cookie.

These cookies are an excellent modern twist on an old school classic. The ganache truffles are rich and decadent, and the peanut butter cookies are nutty and sweet – the perfect combination!