so happy together

it is a wonderful feeling to find your soul mate… ya know, the one you were meant to be with, and everyone in your presence can’t help but agree; the one where when someone bites into the two of you together a big smile comes over their face– wait, wha??? i wonder if peanut butter cookies and fudgy chocolate brownies know how perfect they are together. while this blog is certainly no stranger to peanut butter and chocolate treats, nor pillow cookies, this is the first time i have shown you a brownie-stuffed peanut butter cookie, and it is about darn time. my sincere apologies. (in my defense, at least i showed you peanut butter-stuffed chocolate cookies).

i wasn’t quite sure what to make for andy‘s birthday party, and then two things happened: a girl at work that is allergic to dairy said that she liked chocolate and peanut butter so i started looking through recipes with those two ingredients (btw, the vegan ones are coming soon); my friend tamara posted brownie-stuffed chocolate chip pillow cookies. combine those two, and i saw that i had no choice… and it is a good thing, as they were a bit hit at the party! however, when i went to bake the brownies, i found that i didn’t have an 11×7 pan (though i have five 13×9 pans), so i improvised:

since there was no real recipe for this, just use your favorite brownie recipe (here are some). while the brownies are in the oven, put together this ridiculously simple peanut butter cookie dough:

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup sugar (i used 1/2 c white sugar, 1/4 light brown sugar instead)

1 egg

really, it is that simple, just mix those things in a bowl with a spoon or rubber spatula. no kidding. if you are having trouble working with it, throw the dough in the fridge for about 10 minutes to firm it up a little bit. roll into balls, flatten them out on parchment-lined baking sheets. keep the oven heated to 350. let the brownies cool for 5-10 minutes, then cut them up into approx 1″ pieces– i rolled them into balls, similar to my brownie truffles, though you can keep them square if you prefer. place one brownie bite inside each circle of peanut butter dough, wrapping the dough around it, rolling into a ball, and flattening slightly. criss-cross with fork tongs if desired. cook 8-10 minutes. bite in and smile at a perfect match!

you could also try putting pretzel bits, chocolate chips, crushed peanuts, caramel, etc inside for an added treat!