Patriotic Peanut Butter Cookies (Frosted)

Prep time: 20 mins  *  Cook time: 20 mins  *  Total time: 40 mins  *  Serves: 24

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup butter (room temperature)
• 1½ cups dark brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1½ cup chunky peanut butter (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 4 cups white chocolate chips
• 6 teaspoons vegetable shortening
• red food coloring
• blue food coloring

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• In a stand mixer, combine the softened butter with the dark brown sugar and granulated sugar until well mixed.
• Add the eggs and continue mixing until the eggs are completely incorporated.
• Now pour the vanilla extract into the cookie dough and mixer for 30 seconds to combine.
• Add the chunky peanut butter to the bowl and mix for 2 minutes, or until the peanut butter is completely mixed into the dough.
• Now add the salt, baking soda, and flour and mix slowly for 2-3 minutes. The dough should be very sticky.
• Scoop the dough onto un-greased baking sheets (2-3 tablespoons per cookie). Lightly press the cookie down to form a small disk (do not use a fork!).
• Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Remove from the oven and let sit for a minute before moving to a cooling rack. Once the cookies are cool to the touch, move them to the refrigerator or freezer to cool completely.
• While the cookies are cooling, separate the white chocolate chips into 3 bowls and add 2 teaspoons of shortening to each bowl. Microwave for 60-90 seconds to melt the chocolate. Add red coloring to one of the bowls and blue to another.
• Once the cookies are cooled, place the cookies upside-down into the plain white melted chocolate to coat the top of the cookie. Place back in the refrigerator or freezer so that the chocolate can harden.
• To add the red and blue stripes, use a spoon to spread the red and blue chocolate over ⅓ of the cookie. Again, place back in the refrigerator or freezer to harden. Store in the refrigerator until serving.
• Note - I found it hard to apply colored frosting on top of the white frosting. As an alternative, I used a zip lock bag to pipe the colored frosting through.

Recipe from Zack and Cilantro Saga on Cooking & Beer.