A Bit of A Disappointment To Me

I love my Cooking Light annuals. They have to be some of my favorite cookbooks, because I'm always using them. You never know when your tastes are going to change, and something you passed up a year ago now sounds great to you. Recently I made the Cheddar Chicken Chowder again, and just as every time I make it, I pull out the book, and on the same page is a recipe for Peanut Butter Fudge Cups. And every time I look at that, I think I should make them sometime. They seemed easy enough, so I finally decided to break them out and make them up for Super Bowl Sunday.

They were a little time-consuming, but not overly so- just a few steps. First I made the Peanut Butter cookie base and pressed that into my mini-muffin tin. Then I cooked up the chocolate filling, which took just a few minutes to thicken. Then the chocolate went into the cookie crust, and then into the oven. They baked up into some impressive looking gems, and I was looking forward to trying them. And when I did...well, I was disappointed.

I thought the chocolate filling was nice- it was deep and chocolatey without being too sweet. The peanut butter crust though...really didn't taste like much, and I also didn't care for the soft texture too much. The peanut butter was there, it just wasn't impressive like I'd hoped. If I were to make these again, I would use creamy peanut butter, first of all. And secondly, I think I would add a pinch of baking soda to the peanut butter cookie part to try and get it to crisp up a bit. I may make them again and play with them- I thought they were pretty and I did like the chocolate filling, so we'll see. And I also have to say that company thought they were great- so the "meh" may just be from me.

Peanut Butter Fudge Cups
from Cooking Light Annual, 2002

Serving Size : 24

Crust:
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons chilled butter -- cut into small pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cold water
Cooking spray
Filling:
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons 1% low-fat milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 large egg
2 teaspoons powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare crust, place first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Lightly spoon 1 cup flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add flour and salt to peanut butter mixture; cut in flour with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle surface with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time; toss with a fork until combined.

Shape mixture into 24 balls. Place 1 ball in each of 24 miniature muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Press dough into bottoms and up sides of muffin cups.

To prepare filling, combine 2/3 cup brown sugar and the next 4 ingredients (2/3 cup brown sugar through milk) in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until smooth, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in 2 tablespoons flour and egg until well blended. Divide chocolate mixture evenly among muffin cups. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until the pastry is lightly browned; cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes. Run a knife around outside edges of cups. Remove cups from pan; cool completely on wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.