Saturday, October 8, 2011

Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwiches

This morning was a Pinterest morning. Have you discovered Pinterest yet? WARNING: It's highly addictive when you first discover it. But then you taper off a bit (hopefully?) and actually find it to be a useful tool to organize all of the great stuff you find on the Internet.

Anyway, my friend Erin hosted a Pinning Party, where everyone brought a dish they had found on Pinterest, and the supplies to make a craft we had pinned. (Seriously. If I've lost you, check out the website.) So I made one of the very first things I ever pinned - Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwiches. (For the original website and post, please see Picky Palate.
Yep. They're as good as they look. Graham crackers, chocolate, and peanut butter. Those are really the only ingredients. Start by melting some good-quality chocolate and dip graham crackers in it. Put them all on parchment paper or wax paper on a cookie sheet, and stick it in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes to harden.
Take them out of the freezer and plop a generous portion of peanut butter on top of each one. I used my cookie scoop to measure it out.
Spread out the peanut butter on each cracker. This was actually the  most difficult part of the process for me. I wanted to get it almost all the way to the edge and corners but not go over, and still have it spread evenly over the entire cracker. With that much peanut butter, it wasn't very easy.
The back into the freezer for 10 minutes for the peanut butter to set up. At this point you'll want to make sure your remaining chocolate is still smooth and thin enough to pour. This is when I realized I hadn't purchased enough chocolate - there was no way I would have enough to cover the tops. So I rummaged... and found an old giant Hershey bar. What did I have to lose? I broke it up into pieces and stuck it in the microwave. It ended up not melting well. So I grabbed some shortening, tossed in about 1 1/2 tablespoons with the chocolate, and tried again. Sure enough, it melted up and got just as smooth as the good-quality chocolate. I love it when things just work out. :-)
Take a spoon full of chocolate and plop it on top of the peanut butter. Then use a plastic knife to smooth it up to and over the edge of each one, then smooth it around the outside as well. Not the prettiest things in the world, but they were super easy AND super fast... I finished the entire process in just over an hour, just in time to head to Hobby Lobby, grab some supplies, and get to the party 30 minutes late. Oops!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwiches
adapted from Picky Palate

12 graham cracker squares
3 cups good-quality chocolate (more-or-less)
2 cups peanut butter
shortening to help melt chocolate, if needed

Chop chocolate into small pieces, then microwave until almost melted. Stir until smooth. Dip each graham cracker into the chocolate, allowing excess to drip off, then place on parchment paper or wax paper on a cookie sheet. Freeze for 5-10 minutes until hardened.

Spoon 2 tablespoons peanut butter on each cracker, then spread to the edges. Freeze another 10 minutes until set.

Spoon melted chocolate over the peanut butter. Using a plastic knife, smooth chocolate over the top, allowing the chocolate to spill over the sides. Use the knife to smooth out the sides. Freeze another 10 minutes. Keep them in the refrigerator until ready to serve - they get gooey fast!

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