Friday, January 14, 2011

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER SHORTBREAD SQUARES

My photo, the ugly stepsister of Martha's see below
Martha Stewart hit this one on the head...these squares are very tasty, and decadent without an obscene amount of work. In true Martha fashion they are not the simple throw together dessert but truly worth making. I LOVE peanut butter, perhaps because it is a butter, there's oil in dem dar peanuts!

One tip I read after making the squares was if you do not have the basket-weave mold to spread the chocolate directly over the peanut butter. What I did was cut a piece of tin foil to fit shortbread and placed that on a cookie sheet, then spread the chocolate over the foil and put the cookie sheet in the fridge. Once the chocolate was set I peeled the foil off and placed it on top of the peanut butter.
photo courtesy of Martha Stewart

Chocolate Peanut Butter Shortbread Squares
 from Martha Stewart
Ingredients
Vegetable oil cooking spray
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
12 ounces milk chocolate, melted
1 cup creamy peanut butter
 Directions
1.Coat a 9 1/2-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides, and coat parchment with spray.
2.Sift flour and salt into a medium bowl. Beat butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. With the mixer running, add sugar, and beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Press dough evenly into pan. Cover, and refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
3.Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Bake shortbread until golden brown and firm in center, 45 to 50 minutes. Let shortbread cool in pan on a wire rack.
4.Place a basket-weave mat, trimmed to fit pan, on a rimmed baking sheet, and spread melted chocolate evenly on mat. Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes.
5.Use parchment to unmold shortbread from pan, and trim edges to create a square. Spread peanut butter evenly on shortbread. Carefully center chocolate, mat side up, on top of peanut butter, and gently peel off mat. Cut shortbread into 1 1/2-inch squares. Shortbread will keep, covered, for up to 3 days.
Makes about 36 squares.

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