Warning, these are decadent. And perhaps not a health food. But you can cut them small. But they were a hit of the Christmas party circuit. I recommend freezing or refrigerating them until you are ready to serve them. The inspiration comes from Fine Cooking Magazine’s cookie issue. But they tell you to bake off a shortbread cookie crust first. I didn’t feel like doing that so I repurposed some cookies I had laying around.

What Fine Cooking’s cookies looked like. Mine were pretty close, too. I just didn’t take a photo.

• 1 cup of cookies (Amaratti, pizelles, shortbread cookies, graham crackers–all are good contenders)
• 1 stick of butter (2-3 T for the crust, the rest of the 6 Tbs of butter, softened but not melted f0r the filling)
• 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1 bag of chocolate chips
• 1/2 jar of creamy peanut butter (the recipe tells you to use an emulsified butter, such as Jiff. I used organic whole foods creamy peanut butter, and what I realized was that they turn out fine, but they really really need to be cold until serving, or you’ll get a pasty mouthfeel from them. and who wants that? So if you have Skippy  or Jiff laying around, or you frequent stores that sell them, go for it. I usually do my shopping where the au natural peanut butter is more common, so that’s what I used)
• 1 1/2 confectioner’s sugar (note you can just blend regular sugar in the blender and get the same texture)
• 1 T vanilla
• a dash of cinnamon

For the crust

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350
2. Blend up the cookies until they make crumbs
3. Pour into a parchment lined 9×9 or 8×8 baking pan
4. Cut your butter into pieces and lay on top
5. Throw it into the oven for 10 mins
6. Mix up your crumbs and let it cool (you can throw it into the freezer while you do the next step)
7. The original recipe tells you to use a mixer for this, and perhaps you should. I was too lazy both times I made this and just used a fork to perfectly good results.
8. Mix your butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add in your peanut butter and mix.
9. Pour the peanut butter mixture over the crust and throw into the freezer while you make the chocolate ganache
10. Heat up the cream on medium. When it bubbles and is hot, add in your chocolate chips. Lower the heat to simmer and stir constantly until it makes a smooth, shiny ganache. Pour over your now cold peanut butter. Return the pan to the freezer for a half hour or to the fridge for at least an hour.
11. Cut into small squares. I put each square into a cupcake liner.
12. Enjoy. mmm….peanut butter. chocolate.