After Michael spent hours in the kitchen preparing enchiladas, I took my turn and made some Sugarspoons-inspired cookies. (This will be our final contribution to 'that recipe seems very familiar...'.) These flourless peanut butter cookies have a former life on that blog as peanut butter alligators! Too cute. I formed them into smaller and less adventurous balls and hoped that sandwiching them together with ganache might provide some joy instead.
Emily noted in her blog post that the quantity made only a few cookies so I gamely tripled it. This made the perfect number of cookies for the ganache quantity, but all up it's a lot of cookie sandwiches - anyone interested may wish to halve the recipe below. I was quite unsure about testing the doneness of the cookies as they baked. Mine certainly looked much browner than Emily's and yet they were very wet straight out of the oven and ultimately set into a nice tender texture. They were a also delicate - inclined to crumble on the first day, then soggy-crumbly a day or two later (due to the ganache?) - and I'm amazed that Emily's alligators survived postage. Mine just barely survived a bike ride!
Regardless of whether or not the ganache should be blamed for causing sogginess, I'll be making it again. I was astounded at what a thick satiny mixture could be made by simply using soy milk. And using dark chocolate as I did, there was not the faintest whiff of tofu about it.
It's another recipe for us peanut-butter-and-chocolate lovers to file away, though I'll be reserving it for occasions where the whole batch will feasibly be scoffed quickly and close to home.
PB&choc sandwich cookies
(based on recipes blogged at Sugarspoons
for flourless peanut butter alligators
and chocolate ganache)
cookies
1 1/2 tablespoons no-egg powder + water to fill a cup measure
(i.e. 6 egg replacers)
750g crunchy peanut butter
3/4 cup light agave nectar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup castor sugar
ganache
2/3 cup soy milk
200g dark chocolate
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Preheat the oven to 150°C. Line a baking tray with paper.
Whisk together the no-egg powder and water to a smooth paste in a cup or small bowl.
In a medium-large bowl mix together all the cookie ingredients, including the egg replacer, until smooth. Drop small blobs of the dough (as little as 1-2 teaspoons each) on the baking sheet, leaving a bit of space around each one. It'll take several batched to work your way through all the dough.
Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes, until they're just browning slightly around the edge - they'll still look a bit wet. Allow the cookies to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack.
When the cookies are all baked and completely cool, do your best to pair them up by size and shape and prepare the ganache.
In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the milk to the boil. Turn the heat down to low and add the chocolate and maple syrup, stirring the mixture constantly to avoid burning or sticking. Keep stirring until the ingredients form a smooth silky ganache, then take them off the heat.
Drop a restrained spoonful of the ganache into the centre of a cookie and top it with its cookie pair. Repeat with all your remaining cookie pairs, and give them at least half an hour to set before transporting them anywhere.
unlike the enchiladas I did taste these and loved them - they were soft and the ganache was great in them - though I thought they looked like kingstons when I first saw them
ReplyDeleteI loved them, so happy that they were gf and I didn't have to miss out on the fun !
ReplyDeleteFlourless peanut butter cookies are my go-to cookie recipe (as evidenced by the fact that I've even experimented with a tabasco-spiced version :P), but I've never yet paired them with chocolate. Such a stellar combination, and I'd have happily eaten all the soggy leftovers :P
ReplyDeleteI'm usually peanut butter phobic and was hesitant to try these but I actually really enjoyed them.
ReplyDeleteThese were really good!!
ReplyDeleteThese look unbelievable. Am going to give them a try!
ReplyDeleteI have a serious addiction to peanut butter cookies, but with the addition of ganache, wow.....must try. Ganache and cookie=friends for life. :)
ReplyDeletethat looks really yum. ive always enjoyed cooking with soy milk because it cuts the sweetness. also, i am a soy lover through and through so this is good for me. thanks! =)
ReplyDeleteThanks Johanna - Lisa said exactly the same thing! I'll have to make Kingstons a project for another day, this ganache would be perfect for them.
ReplyDeleteK, the less flour the more room for peanut butter. :-)
Hannah, I must admit the soggy leftover weren't really a chore to eat.
Mel, I'm glad you found something to enjoy from these anyway. :-)
Thanks Vicki!
Thanks Miss Melbourne - let me know how you go.
Adriana - yep, they make a pretty good pair. :-)
Winston - we are using soy milk more and more! It's good stuff.
Yum yum...
ReplyDelete