Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Half & Half Cookies

Alright, So you’ve read about my adorable nephew’s birthday party, now it’s time to tell you a little about my adventures in NYC before I ventured off to Boston!

I arrived in NYC Friday evening and I finally got to meet Tara (Chip Chip Hooray)! She took me to one of her favorite Thai restaurants for dinner, and then to a Greek bakery for dessert. I got a hazelnut cupcake (which suspiciously had almonds sprinkled on top) and a baklava cheesecake bar (which btw I actually saved for breakfast the next morning).

Kayle, myself, Tara, Joanne, Lauren, and Jenn

On Saturday we met up with the rest of the fabulous ladies for brunch at DBGB (however much to my dismay, Tracey was unable to join us due to car trouble). After stuffing ourselves with deliciouness, we found a location where we could then dive into the cookies which Lauren had brought for us to try from Keep It Sweet Desserts. After one bite of her cookies, I didn’t want them to try my cookies that I had brought because they were so phenomenal! She may have one more customer after that experience (and everyone I shared them with later on since I got to take some of the leftovers to my family).

COOKIES

From there, we went to a cute store with all kinds of kitchen stuff (Fishs Eddy) where I bought two fun cups and also two plates. One both Tara and I bought so be prepared for some awesome plates showing up. Also checked out Eataly, and a few other places I cannot remember the names to before I had to head out and meet my ride to Boston. I had an awesome time with everyone but definitely wish I had more time to spend in NYC. Hopefully I will be back soon, or maybe I can convince them to venture south ;-).

Also, check out Tara’s post about our adventures too – she took more pictures!

Moving on to these cookies. They are the ones I brought to share on Saturday! Originally I had planned on sprinkling these with coarse sea salt prior to baking but totally forgot in my excitement of preparing them for the weekend. The raw dough was also so good I couldn’t wait to bake and eat them. They are half and half cookies with peanut butter cookie dough with dark chocolate chips on one side, then dark chocolate cookie dough with peanut butter chips on the other. It’s joyousness.

DARK CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER HALF& HALF COOKIES

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

DARK CHOCOLATE DOUGH

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 up unsweetened dark chocolate baking cocoa

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

PEANUT BUTTER DOUGH

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips/chunks

Directions:

1. Make the dark chocolate dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and baking cocoa. In a large bowl, using a mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until just incorporated. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in peanut butter chips. Divide into four equal portions, wrap in plastic and refrigerate.
2. Make the peanut butter dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, using a mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in the peanut butter until creamy, then add the egg, and vanilla  until just incorporated. Fold in the dark chocolate chips. Divide into four equal portions, wrap in plastic and refrigerate.
3. Assemble the cookies: Once the doughs have chilled for about an hour, roll all 8 balls of dough into logs, measuring about 3/4-inch wide by 12 inches long. Pair up the four logs of dark chocolate dough with the 4 peanut butter and roll the pair together into one log. Re-wrap in plastic and refrigerate for another hour, or overnight.
4. When you are ready to bake your cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with a baking mat or parchment paper and set aside. Take out one log of dough and slice into 1/2-inch pieces. Place on cookie sheets, cut-side-down, two inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies just start to set. Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheets before removing to wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

Source: Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction and A Kitchen Addiction.