Sunday 30 January 2011

Peanut butter & chocolate sandwich biscuits

An indulgent two in one
For me, there is something completely yummy about salty peanut butter and dark chocolate that catapults me back to my childhood.
My favourite chocolate bar as a kid was the Reese's pieces cupcakes. I would nibble the thick chocolate edges and then let the chocolate covered peanut butter centre melt in my mouth. These are Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's great British versions:
For the biscuits
240g plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder (i didn't have any in the cupboard and they came out fine without)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
180g butter
140g smooth peanut butter (i used coarse)
100g caster sugar
100g light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the ganache filling:
100ml double cream
200g dark chocolate
30g softened butter
1) Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
2) Beat the butter & peanut butter in a separate bowl.
3) Add to this the sugars & beat until light & fluffy.
4) Add to this the egg and vanilla, beat until smooth, then stir in the flour until well combined.
5) Cling film and keep in fridge for a couple of hours to chill.
6) Roll into 4-5mm thick, cut out circles of 5cm. 
7) Bake for 15-17mins. Keep an eye on your biscuits, they are ready when the edges darken slightly. Mine only took 11mins as they were a little smaller. I baked my biscuits in batches. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
8) Then make the ganache filling by gently heating your cream until bubbles appear at the edges of the pan.
9) Pour the hot cream over your broken chocolate, continuously stir and add the butter a bit at a time until the mixture is shiny & smooth. I used a bain marie to finish this off.
10) You need to leave the chocolate to thicken before you pipe onto your biscuits. While its cooling you can dip a few as a less indulgent alternative.
dipped for a smaller treat





3 comments:

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  2. Lovely looking biscuits Vanessa!

    I made these about a week ago with my 8 year old along with the thumbprint cookies in the same article. I was really surprised at how subtle the peanut butter was and given the amount of butter & sugar they were in no way cloying in the mouth.
    My partner also said she would think long and hard about buying ordinary biscuits in future after tasting these.

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  3. They look very good Vanessa. I think I will make these for an art exhibition preview afternoon.

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