F-It Fridays: Chocolate Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

 

I have decided to initiate “F-it Fridays.”

Nope, that’s not a typo, just a play–on-words.

The F stands for what you think it does,
but before you think I am some vulgar so-and-so,
I think you’ll completely be in love with the idea
because it basically means I will be putting up those recipes
that destroy the clean-eating aspect,
but leave you oh so satisfied in the craving department.

 

Oh, you’re welcome ahead of time.

I stand by the legendary 80-20 rule of the clean eating world,
where you should eat clean, natural, unprocessed foods 80% of the time,
yet allow yourself to indulge and waive-guilt for the remaining 20%.

I truly believe this is where the diet world fails.
Whereas diets tend to create a world of fast results,
the standards of that “diet” are impossible to live up to,
causing the dieter to fall back in to their typical ways
and then subsequently back on the road to a new diet.

F Diets.

Embrace the idea of a new way of living: a healthy lifestyle
as opposed to a temporary diet.
A healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be painful
or unsatisfactory.
That is where the 80-20 rules comes in.

I typically work off the Monday-Friday plan as my 80%,
with the weekend accounting for the remainder,
but I try not to over-do it.
Your 80-20 also affects your wallet, which is something to remember.

Now, that doesn’t mean your 20% should be wasted all at one sitting,
at least not on a regular basis.
If you have a wedding or special event coming up where you know
it will be hard and/or useless too fight the urge,
allow that to be your 20% for the week.

Okay, so on to this recipe I am sure you are so anxious to read about.

Today’s F-It recipe is absolutely delicious, richly sweet and completely bad for you.
But, damn it, so worth it!

When Tara told me that we were going to be having some of her girlfriends
stay in our apartment this weekend for a bachelorette party,
I immediately offered to bake something yummy for them to indulge in.

Knowing Tara and her love for the chocolate and peanut butter affair,
I was quick to pick this recipe up.

While the prep time was a little messy and took much longer than
the actual cooking time,
these cookies were so worth the effort and so easy to make!

I will be looking for a way to “healthify” these,
so be on the look-out for that in the future!

Hope you all get the chance to try it out and enjoy!

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

(adapted from BigOven)

 

— Cookie Dough —
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup Cocoa unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sugar (I used organic)
1/2 cup Brown sugar firmly packed
1 stick unsalted butter softened
1/4 cup peanut butter (at least go for the organic kind)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large Eggs

— Cookie Filling —
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup Confectioners Sugar

1. Set oven to 375 degrees
2. In a small bowl combine flour, cocoa, and baking soda; blend well.
3. In large bowl, beat sugar, brown sugar, butter, and 1/4 cup peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and eggs one at a time; beat well.
4. Stir in flour mixture just until blended and set aside.
5. In a small bowl, combine filling ingredients and blend well. Roll into 30 one-inch balls.
6. For each cookie, take about 1 tablespoon cookie dough into your hand, roll it slightly and then palm it into a circle, then place one peanut butter ball in the center, bringing the dough around it, covering completely.
7. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with palm of your hand.
8. Bake for 7 – 9 minutes or until set and slightly cracked. Cool on wire racks.