Peanut Butter (hearts) Chocolate Cookies And My New Favorite Coffee#MyBaristaMoment

Laurel & Hardy
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Bacon & Eggs
Peanut Butter & Chocolate
Coffee and Cookies

What do they all have in common?  They're perfect pairings! Putting your original spin on an iconic duo is not a task to approach half-heartedly .  There's a lot of history and greatness to live up to.  Coffee and Cookies -- sounds simple enough, but consider this: Perhaps you can liven up a mediocre cookie by dipping it in a cup of good coffee, but if you're starting out with a humdrum cup of Joe, your ship is sunk before its even leaves the dock.

 

I'm thrilled -- genuinely thrilled -- to tell you that after four "I CAN eat just one" batches of "eh" trial cookies, I finally came up with a keeper.  I'm even more excited that the coffee tasting that inspired this new recipe creation was a success.  Here's why:

 

My husband and I LOVE our coffee.  We start our morning with one big steaming cup, and that's all for the whole day.  But with that single cup, we want to hear the angels sing.  For years, we've been chasing the perfect cup of home brewed coffee.  We've tried everything that's out there -- the big name brands, the locally roasted, the taste-test winners, fair trade, organic, and have tried coffee beans from every continent on which those precious little beans are grown.   But thusfar, the perfect cup has eluded us.

Enter the "My Barista Moment" campaign for the Ambiance line of products at Smart & Final.  I was all at once eager and apprehensive about taking on this campaign from Social Fabric. Just as I wasn't willing to share an "eh" cookie with my readers, I wouldn't want to recommend a cup of coffee that I wasn't crazy about either.

I'm getting awfully long-winded here, so suffice to say that both my husband and I were nothing short of "wowed" by this morning's brew.  A quest of many years finally comes to an end  in the form of Smart & Final's Ambiance Premium Whole Bean French Roast Coffee -- Full-bodied, smooth, & perfectly balanced.  This definitely was "My Barista Moment", having finally made a cup of coffee at home that rivals any cup I've swooned over in a first rate coffee house.  I'd be willing to pay almost anything for the perfect cup of coffee, but fortunately the Ambiance French Roast is only $11.99 for a 2 pound bag!

 

There's something for everyone in the Ambiance line which includes beans and blends from many regions, ground and flavored coffees, a full line of gourmet teas, and accoutrements like sugar packets and stir sticks.

You've heard about the coffee, so now it's time for the cookie.  These "Peanut Butter {hearts} Chocolate Cookies" are like the lovechild of a Peanut Butter Blossom and a Chocolate Thumbprint cookie.  Peanut Butter {hearts} Chocolate Cookies + A great cup of coffee = Breakfast of Champions!  They hold up to a good dunking, and the creamy smooth fudge middle will simply melt in your mouth!

While at Smart & Final picking up my Ambiance coffee, I grabbed the ingredients for the cookies too.  The prices for the First Street brand of flour, sugar, eggs, pure vanilla extract, chocolate chips and butter were great and I was very pleased with the quality.  I also bought some potatoes.  You'll see why later in the recipe.  You can read more about my shopping experience HERE.

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 Peanut Butter {hearts} Chocolate Cookies 

Makes 3 dozen

For the heart "stamp"

1 medium potato

For the dough

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon table salt

For rolling the dough balls

1/4 cup granulated sugar

For the fudge filling
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 Tablespoons butter, cut in to pieces

1 1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 350.

 

Step 1:  Create a heart-shaped stamp by cutting one end off of the potato to yield a flat surface.  With a pencil or bamboo skewer, draw a heart shape about the size of your thumbprint.  Use a paring knife to carefully cut away the potato, leaving only the heart shape. If you do not wish to have a chocolate heart in the center of the cookies, you may simply use your the back of a measuring spoon or melon baller to make a round depression in the cookies.

Step 2:  In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, cream peanut butter, butter, 1/2 cup sugar and brown sugar until smooth (about 1 minute).

Step 3:  Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth.

Step 4:  In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.  Slowly add to the creamed mixture and beat to combine.

Step 5:   Shape dough into 1" balls.  Roll in granulated sugar, then place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2" apart.

Step 6:  Bake for 13-14 minutes.  Remove from oven and immediately press the heart "stamp" into the center of each cookie to form a reservoir for the chocolate fudge.

 

Step 7:  Allow cookies to cool completely.  Once cool, prepare the creamy fudge filling by melting the chocolate chips, butter, and corn syrup over low heat.  Stir until smooth.  Place in a squirt bottle, pastry bag, or a sturdy zipper bag, with a small hole cut in the tip and pipe gently into the heart cavities of each cookie.  Cookies are ready to eat when the fudge has set.  

If this recipe makes you want to dash to the kitchen to mix up a batch, I'd love to get your vote

HERE.

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The prospect of a perfect cup of coffee is reason enough to give Ambiance coffee a try. But if you need another little nudge, consider this:

Purchase any premium Ambiance product, now through February 7, then visit www.smartandfinal.com/Ambiance2012.  Enter the code on your receipt and be entered to win some of these amazing prizes: First Prize (one grand prize per week, 3 total over the campaign): DeLonghi BCO264B Cafe Nero Combo Coffee/Espresso Maker, a $200 value!, or one of six $50 SmartCash cards.

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“This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for #collectivebias #CBias ”

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This post has been linked-up with:

Lisa's Love Filled Linky List @ Lisa's Craft Blog
BFF Open House @ The Answer is Chocolate
Tickled Pink @ 504 Main
Catch as Catch Can @ My Repurposed Life
Making it With Allie @ What Allie's Making Now
Be Inspired @ Elizabeth & Co.
Gallery of Favorites @ 21st Century Housewife & Premeditated Leftovers

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