Double Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cup Sandwich Cookies

I love games. 

Board games, card games, game shows - I love 'em all. Except games where the heart is concerned. Not cool. 

I was the girl in school who loved those games like MASH - the game where "fate" determined who one would marry, what kind of car they would drive, how many kids they would have, what kind of house they would live in - Mansion, Apartment, Shack or House? Thank the Lord above that was wrong, otherwise I could be married to Matt H, living in a mansion in New York City, driving a Corvette and...wait a minute. Actually, the last I heard, Matt was living on the coast in California, heading up his own security company for multi-million dollar homes. I guess it wouldn't have been that bad.

Then there was the Paper Fortune Teller. Someone would ultimately land on the corner where they were destined to smell like a men's sweaty locker room for 20 years. Landing on something of that caliber ruined an entire day. I'm not kidding. You'd ask said friend a random question three hours later and they were still steamed about it. It was a harsh fate for a kid.

Finally, the questionnaires. This one was meant for the more mature kids. You know, for the eyes of 14-years-olds only. Questions about which boys you liked, what you would name your first daughter, what your idea of a perfect date was - and you know we all said at one time or another, "Romantic dinner, followed by a walk along the beach", even though for most of us, the closest body of water was hundreds and hundreds of miles away. 

I miss those days. It was such an innocent time. I often feel bad for my kids. They will never have that same sense of security that I did. Playing outside until the street lights came on, walking to the shop in town with friends to buy candy or ice cream, never fearing someone may pick us up, it's so sad. 

My daughter came home with a paper fortune teller last week. I had a really good laugh. I couldn't wait to see what my fate was. 

Turns out, I'm destined to a life of shoveling piles of horse poop while wearing flippers. Considering we live in a city and the nearest stables are miles from us, it's probably unlikely, but it made me shake my head and ask where they come up with this stuff? But then again, where did we come up with that stuff?

Because my daughter is convinced this will happen, I decided that as long as I can have these beautiful sandwich cookies everyday, I could live with that fate.

At least I'm pretty sure I could anyway.  

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHIP PEANUT BUTTER CUP SANDWICH COOKIES

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

⅔ cup brown sugar, packed

⅔ cup Dutch-processed cocoa

1 tablespoon vanilla

2¼ cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature

¼ cup milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

18-24 peanut butter cups, like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Prepare cookie sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cocoa, and salt together; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars together. Add in eggs, one at a time, and beat until incorporated. Add vanilla. Mix well.

Slowly incorporate dry ingredients into butter mixture, alternating with milk.

 Stir in chocolate chips.  Cake batter will be sticky. 

Chill dough for about an hour. Using a medium cookie scoop with a retractable mechanism, place cookie dough onto prepared sheets about 2 inches apart. Cookies will spread, so if you opt to make larger cookies, please be aware of this. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not over bake.

Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack. While cookies are still quite warm (but not right out of the oven) place a peanut butter cup onto the underside of one cookie and sandwich with another. The heat from the cookies will melt the peanut butter cup.

Repeat process until all cookies are complete. You can also place completed sandwich cookies in refrigerator to help the melted chocolate firm up a bit quicker. 

Enjoy!