First of all, I want to acknowledge I will never be hired for my piping skills.
I’ve tried, but I lack the required patience. I carefully pipe a couple good ones, meaning exactly two, and breezy over-confidence takes over. The next one is invariably smaller than the first two. I correct this with the fourth, which is typically the biggest, for overcompensation, I guess. And number 5 is lopsided. I get frustrated, which is to say pissed, and then it’s just all over from there.
Sometimes I scrape them all back up, like I did yesterday, starting over with a new piping bag because God knows the first one was a complete mess of chocolate all over the place. My husband, thinking he smelled chocolate somewhere and feeling the need to investigate, pointed helpfully at my chocolate smeared shirt, as if I didn’t know I’d dropped some on me, and I snapped back: “Yes. I. Know.” He beat a hasty, wise, retreat to the den. Chocolate-less.
I still don’t understand how it got in my hair.
But I never really give up. Maybe I should, but I keep at it. I mean, it’s not like it’s brain surgery and I have to study neurons and their pathways or something. But just as with things in life that don’t fall into place easily and effortlessly, like finding a new job, writing a book, or getting along with my mom when she was alive, I just keep at it. Someday, hopefully soon, I’ll get it right. But first, I need to acquire a lot more patience.
A Few Cooking Notes:
If you want all chocolate, no worries, just use 9 ounces butter, and omit the peanut butter.
I haven’t tried these with coconut oil, but I really want to. That will be the next kitchen experiment with these babies (in addition to more piping practice, of course). I’m wondering if the coconut oil might make the dough less stiff and easier to pipe too.
When piping these cookies, since the dough can be a little stiff, use the straight edge of a bench scraper, or other hard straight edge, to slide the dough towards the tip. I lay the entire bag on the counter to do this. Try to eliminate as many air bubbles as you easily can, as they will disrupt your piping as air is released. This can cause little pock marks in the piped cookies.
Practice makes perfect better.
Five more desserts I’ve seen this week that made me want to get out my baking pans:
Poppyseed Marzipan Kuchen on Rosemary and Rita’s site Get Cooking Simply (by Rosemary’s daughter living in Germany)
Apple Slice by Wendy at Sunchowder’s Emporia (much more than just an apple slice!)
Tahini Cookies by Hannah at Blue Kale Road
Chiffon Cake with Roasted Strawberries and Rhubarb by Suzanne at A Pug in the Kitchen (and Suzanne has an amazing chocolate semifreddo on Food 52)
Olive Oil and Thyme Mini Bundt Cakes by Alice at the Hip Foodie Mom site
Peanut-Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies
Makes 36 small cookies
Prep Time: 40 minutes (20 minutes if you don’t pipe)
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Ingredients
- 6 ounces unsalted butter, room temp
- 3 ounces peanut butter
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2.8 ounces confectioners sugar, sifted, plus some for sifting over the baked cookies at the end
- 4 1/2 teaspoons coconut sugar
- 1.5 ounces unsweetened cacao (chocolate) powder
- 1 egg
- 5 ounces all-purpose flour
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Fit a pastry bag with a tip for the shape you wish to pipe. Bigger is better here, as the cookie dough can be a little stiff. If you don’t plan to pipe the cookies, they can be spooned out onto the prepared baking sheet too.
Beat the softened butter and peanut butter with a paddle attachment until lighter in color and creamy (about 2 -3 minutes). The color changes due to the air being whipped into it, which translates into a fluffy base for the cookie.
Add the vanilla extract and salt. When fully incorporated, add the sugars and beat again until fully incorporated, starting on low speed.
Add the cocoa powder and egg and mix until fully incorporated.
Sift in the flour in thirds and mix in using a rubber spatula until flour is just incorporated before adding the next 1/3. Do not overmix as this will result in a tougher cookie.
If you’re piping the cookies, spoon ½ cookie dough into the pastry bag and pipe cookies onto the parchment paper or silpat, 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart from each other. I pipe mine about 1 1/2″ in diameter at their base. They will spread a bit in the oven from the butter, and the tops will sink a bit, but the overall shape should hold fine.
Bake for 8 minutes or until just starting to set up. Do not cook until they become hard or browned.
Cool on a cooling rack. For larger cookies, you may want to let them cool on the cookie sheet for 1 minute before removing to a cooking rack.
Sift with a little confectioners sugar just before serving.
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Peanut butter and chocolate was one of my favorite combinations back when I could still have the latter (sob). Your piping skills look absolutely dandy to me; I wind up with stuff in my hair often. I once discovered a blob of meringue in my left ear.
Oh no, Cynthia, you’re chocolateless !! I am so sorry. Is it an allergy? I love the image of the meringue in your ear. I completely understand how that might have happened
The Wimpy Vegetarian recently posted..Friday Desserts: Peanut Butter – Chocolate Kiss Cookies
Great photo, Susan. Love the astromedia in the background. They’re one of my favorite flowers because they last so long.
Scorp
I completely agree, Rodger! We planted them last year and they have a ton of flowers that just go on and on. Even cut, they’re on their 4th day in the vase now, and still look gorgeous.
The Wimpy Vegetarian recently posted..Friday Desserts: Peanut Butter – Chocolate Kiss Cookies
Are you kidding ? Those are perfect cookies ! Such a neat recipe. I bought coconut sugar & am waiting to use it for my #SS crackers post. This cookie is on my list too. I may try it with almond flour but am pretty sure it won’t come out as perfect
Those are great kisses !
The angle of the photograph made ALL the difference, but I still ended up with one stretching up as if to say “Me, me, me!” And of course it’s the one my lens wanted to focus in on. Oh well, the flowers are pretty and likely save the photo. I’m making these with coconut oil next time. I’m also thinking of reducing the flour a bit for easier piping. But I know both changes will likely increase the spreading if I do. My head hurts now.
The Wimpy Vegetarian recently posted..Friday Desserts: Peanut Butter – Chocolate Kiss Cookies
I’m sure even the least perfect cookies taste fantastic! Thanks for the Kuchen link
I see that Wendy’s Apple Slice recipe is written in ounces — maybe eventually we’ll all be baking in weights instead of cups.
Rosemary recently posted..Comment on Cake or Kuchen – A Recipe Translation by Rosie’s Kitchen
Luckily they taste the same, no matter their size or lopsidedness. I admit I weigh too when baking. I got in the habit at school, and never switched back. I don’t even think about it now, but I didn’t even own scales until I went to school.
The Wimpy Vegetarian recently posted..Friday Desserts: Peanut Butter – Chocolate Kiss Cookies
Wow, Susan, I love these. I am going to make these, can I post on my blog, I don’t see a re blog capability on yours. I agree with Cynthia, your piping skills look great to me, I love that there is only 5 oz of flour in these, I could have one as a treat on my diet. I have ZERO piping skills so to me your cookies look totally gorgeous!! Chocolate and peanut butter my favorite combination.
apuginthekitchen recently posted..Re-Purposing Leftovers-Salmon,Asparagus And Whole Wheat Pappardelle
You can definitely post on your blog! I’ve seen how you do it with others’ posts and that’s fine with me. Thanks for wanting to do that
! Also, I wanted to post a link to your semifreddo, but couldn’t find it on your blog – was I missing it? So I linked it through Food52 instead and linked your amazing chiffon cake instead. I can’t imagine you with ZERO piping skills when you’re so great with anything baking!!!
The Wimpy Vegetarian recently posted..Friday Desserts: Peanut Butter – Chocolate Kiss Cookies
Thank you, I will post your recipe and a link to your site on my blog this weekend. I haven’t posted my semifreddo cake yet, I have yet to write it up and get it on there. Thank you so much, I honestly do have zero piping skills. I can back but decorating is not my forte!!
apuginthekitchen recently posted..Re-Purposing Leftovers-Salmon,Asparagus And Whole Wheat Pappardelle
Me too. Baking I’m fine. Decorating, not so much
The Wimpy Vegetarian recently posted..Friday Desserts: Peanut Butter – Chocolate Kiss Cookies
Oh! My! Goodness! You’ve hit my Achilles with PB and chocolate! So much for that diet before our cruise! lol
I would love for you to link up with me and share some of your wonderful recipes on my Foodie Friday Blog Hop! You can share your old favorites and find some new ones while you’re there! (I know my readers will LOVE this one!)
Hope to see you there!
Melissa
A Room for Two with a View
I’m on my way out of the house right now, Melissa, but I’d love to link up later this afternoon!! Thanks so much. And about the diet, I just keep mine in the freezer, so I have to work a little to have one
The Wimpy Vegetarian recently posted..Friday Desserts: Peanut Butter – Chocolate Kiss Cookies
I am dying for a bite, one look at the screen is not enough
Beautiful!
Cheers
CCU
CCU recently posted..CCU Undercover Diary: Adriano Zumbo Patisserie
Thanks so much CCU! Hope you’re doing well
The Wimpy Vegetarian recently posted..Friday Desserts: Peanut Butter – Chocolate Kiss Cookies
These look fantastic, Susan! And I can totally relate to the lack of piping skills. I’m always hoping that at least one will turn out decent enough to photograph…and I’ve been known to scrape buttercream off cupcakes and start over /
Oh Susan, I love the sound of these cookies! They are so pretty, too. What a festive treat!
Hannah recently posted..Tahini Cookies
I think your piping skills are just fine! Your cookies look pretty fantastic, and my hubby would go crazy for them!
Terra recently posted..Wood-Smoked Beef Brisket Nachos {AND What’s Happening at CafeTerraBlog!}
Oh boy. These look dangerous. I might try them with almond butter – yum.
TasteFood recently posted..Steak and Farro with Golden Beets, Garbanzos and Tarragon
Hi Susan,
your peanut butter chocolate kiss cookies are making ME want to bake! they look great and so does the piping job!
Thank you for the shout out!!
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom recently posted..Guest Post: S’mores Mud Pie from Gotta Get Baked
Thanks Alice!!