peanut butter chocolate whirligigs.

Hey all you lovely people, happy belated Valentine's Day! I wish I had a recipe for something pink or heart-shaped to show you but no, I don't. Instead, I present to you these peanut butter chocolate whirligigs. Because taste ultimately triumphs appearances, it doesn't matter that these cookies are not in the least bit Valentine-ish. Then again, I am heavily biased towards peanut butter so take heart. Ha ha spot that? Yes? No? Um, sorry.

These cookies are really better devoured warm because then the chocolate swirl has a sort of crisp outside, like a crust, but the middle is still soft and melty. When the chocolate has cooled, the contrast in textures is also lost, hence why I say that attack the cookies warm!

As with cookie dough that has to be rolled up into a log and refrigerated, my dough became a semi circle of sorts. Geez. I should just make the cookies square. Oh and sprinkles were a last minute brainwave of mine. Everything looks better with sprinkles. Yeah.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Whirligigs
adapted from Baked Elements
makes 25 to 30 cookies (although I could easily end up with double that amount)

For the peanut butter dough:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cool but not cold
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
3 tbsp oil
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract

For the chocolate filling:
12 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp light corn syrup

For the peanut butter dough: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

In another bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter, oil and sugars together until fluffy. Add in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. Stir in the flour mixture in 2 additions, stirring just to incorporate after each addition.

Pat the dough into a disk, wrap in clingwrap and refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours. The dough can also be made up to a day ahead.

After chilling, divide the dough into 2 portions. Roll each portion into a rectangle about 9 1/2 inches long by 7 1/2 inches wide and just under 1/2 inch thick. Refrigerate again while you make the chocolate filling.

For the chocolate filling: Melt the chocolate and corn syrup over a double boiler. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

Retrieve a rectangle of dough from the fridge and spread half of the chocolate filling evenly all over the surface but a 1/2 inch strip on a long side. Roll up the dough, starting from the long end with chocolate. Wrap the cylinder of dough with clingwrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until firm. Repeat for the other portion of dough.

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare 2 baking sheets.

Slice 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick slices of dough and space them out evenly on the baking sheets. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes. Don't overbake.