Monday, September 5, 2011

Marbled Peanut Butter & Chocolate Snickers Cookies.

Important things first. 

It's September. 

I can officially bake with pumpkin pie spice and candy corn now. No? Yes.
But what? How did this happen. I promise you, it was just June. And if we're going there, it was maybe even still technically spring. I was daydreaming of red, white, and blue things to bake and lazy afternoons laying on the beach and grilling pizzas, picnics and hiking and summer fairs, concerts and funnel cakes, ice cold drinks in frosty Mason jars, new flip-flops, fireworks, barbeques, peanut butter s'mores, and camping.

Oh P.S. And an entire season of TrueBlood.    

Now there's only one episode of TrueBlood left (one! ONE.), my s'more count is at zero, and it's September
Dislike.

But the one thing I did do this summer, in droves, and the one thing that always makes me feel a bit more like myself, even when it's September and I haven't been camping or felt the sand between my toes or had a s'more in my face or landed a career or come anywhere close to having that perfect body that fits into a bikini, (let alone a one-piece. P.S. Just that word "bikini" makes me want to punch something.)... is baking. Because it's my thing.

And it probably explains the whole swimsuit situation.

But I think I do it pretty well. And for five minutes, or, you know... forty-five minutes to an hour, it makes me feel confident and purposeful and in control of my life and, honestly, a little bit sassy.  
I'm bolding that. Cuz that's what you do with important things. And because real life? Five minutes after I post this I'll probably sink back down into this quicksand of a funk I've been stuck in the whole summer, where I don't feel confident or purposeful or in control or sassy.

But instead... I'll tell you about these cookies. And then maybe I'll check out of life for 72 hours and finish reading The Help
Sugary-rich peanut butter chocolate chip cookies + double chocolate chip cookies with chunks of chewy, bubbly, caramel-y, nougat-y Snickers bars and bits of almonds. That's what's happening here.
These marbled cookies started out the way most of my cookies do: my boyfriend demanded wanted them. Not feeling all that inspired that day, I asked him what kind he wanted and got this real specific answer:

"I don't know. Cookies, you know? Something chocolate-y. Or something peanut butter-y. Oooh, maybe something chocolate-y almond-y?" 
So I made two batches of cookies and swirled them together! And threw in some in Almond Snickers, since they're his favorite (and hopefully counted as something "chocolate-y almond-y"). 

My favorite part is the gooey pockets of caramel that bubbled up out of these cookies.
I think they would taste even better with chopped up bits of peanut butter Snickers bars... or even Reese's peanut butter cups. Peanut butter = <3.

P.S. If I had my way, the surface of the moon would look like this. 
But then I'd become an astronaut and, you know... eat the moon.

No biggie.

Marbled Peanut Butter & Chocolate Snickers Cookies


Peanut Butter Dough
2 cups creamy peanut butter
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup chocolate chips

Chocolate Dough
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 regular-sized Snicker bars, chopped into small pieces
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

For the peanut butter dough, cream together the butter, sugar, and egg until dough forms. Stir in chocolate chips. 

For the chocolate dough, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until well combined. Slowly beat in egg and vanilla until well combined. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the butter mixture until well combined. Stir in chopped Snickers pieces and chocolate chips. 

Take a tablespoon of peanut butter dough and a tablespoon of chocolate dough and press together. Gently roll into a ball and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. 

Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until done. Let cool 5 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies

Source: Adapted from Picky Palate.