Chocolate Caramel-Swirled Peanut Giants

It’s been too long. I just realized how long I haven’t baked with CHOCOLATE! What was I thinking?!?
Chocolate brings happiness to so many people. Chocolate makes grumpy people a little less grumpy. Chocolate makes my world go round. Does chocolate make your world go round?

If your answer is yes, you must try to win this book by Debby Maugans: Small-Batch Baking for Chocolate Lovers. It is FABULOUS! I didn’t know where to start in this delicious book. Every recipe is perfectly crafted for TWO! Or for just YOU!

I was immediately drawn to these cookies! I happened to find a secret stash of candy strategically hidden from my kids.

There were so many adorable mini Snickers bars in it! I also happened to have a gorgeous bottle of dulce de leche. These cookies would be fantastic even without the dulce de leche.

Here’s what you need to do to participate in this FABULOUS giveaway:

Tell me what your favorite chocolate dessert is!

This giveaway has closed.

Chocolate Caramel-Swirl Peanut Giants
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons well-beaten egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 fun-size (15-gram) dark chocolate Snickers bars, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cocktail peanuts
2 tablespoons dulce de leche sauce or caramel ice-cream topping

Directions:
Here’s my Snickers and peanuts chopped! Delicious!

Combine the chocolate and butter in a small, microwave-safe bowl, microwave on high power until soft, about 2 minutes. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Let it cool to lukewarm.

Place the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and whisk to blend well.

Place the sugar and egg in a small, deep mixing bowl and beat with a handheld electric mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick and pale, 2-3 minutes.

Beat in the lukewarm chocolate mixture and the vanilla until blended.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the flour mixture just until blended.

Stir the candy pieces and peanuts with a wooden spoon.

Drizzle the dulce de leche sauce over the dough, and fold in to swirl it into the batter but do not incorporate it.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate the batter until it is firm enough to work with, about 30 minutes.
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.

Spoon 1/4 cup scoops o the batter onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 3 inches apart.

Using a spatula, press the cookies down to flatten them slightly. Bake the cookies just until the tops are dry and cracked but still soft to the touch, 18-20 minutes.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and slide the parchment paper onto a wire rack. Let the cookies cool completely on the paper. When completely cool, use a metal spatula to lift them off the paper.

Makes: *5 cookies

*I must’ve measured mine differently, I ended up with 8 cookies.
These cookies are as amazing as they look! Thank goodness there were 8 instead of 5! I tried to save some for my family. They each had one to enjoy!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Good luck on this giveaway!!