Peanut Butter Ninjas!

Mrblocko would not shut up about these cookies. I made them for a church event and he was pimping them out to everyone. Someone even made a comment to me that Mrblocko must really like my cooking because he was telling everyone to eat these cookies.

Now that I think about it, I'm not sure if that was a backwards compliment. Did that person have one of the cookies and think they were icky? Or were they commenting on how it was nice to see a husband raving over his wife's cooking? It's probably best I don't think about it too much.

I do think I know why Mrblocko was telling everyone to try the cookies. They don't look like anything special. They look a bit like weird gingersnaps. You'd never know that they have a peanut butter middle lurking beneath that dark chocolaty exterior. That's why they're called peanut butter ninjas.

At least that is what Valerie over at Une Gamine dans la Cuisine calls them. Peanut butter ninjas is much cooler name than Peanut butter munchies. Since I got the recipe from her, they will forever more be referred to as PEANUT BUTTER NINJAS.

Boy are they a pain in the buttowski to make. You make the chocolate and peanut butter doughs. Then you roll the chocolate dough into balls, and then you have to roll the peanut butter dough into the exact same number of balls. Next you gotta flatten the chocolate dough and roll it around the peanut butter balls. Finally, you roll the uniball in sugar, smash it down with a glass before baking it.
Mrblocko says to make sure and let everyone know that they are totally worth all the effort, and that they are better the next day. I wouldn't know because he ate all of them before I could test out a day old version. Oink oink!

Peanut Butter Ninjas from Une Gamine dans la Cuisine
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. In medium bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl beat together butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and the 1/4 cup peanut butter until combined. Add egg, milk, vanilla; beat well. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can. Stir in remaining flour mixture. From the chocolate dough into 32 balls about 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Set aside.

For filling: Combine powdered sugar and 1/2 c peanut butter until smooth. Shape mixture into 32 (3/4") balls. On a work surface, slightly flatten a chocolate dough ball. Top with peanut butter ball. For each cookie, shape the chocolate dough over the peanut butter filling, completely covering the filling. Roll dough into a ball.

Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Lightly flatten with the bottom of a buttered glass dipped in 2 tablespoon granulated sugar. Bake cookies in preheated oven for 8 minutes, or until just set and surface slightly cracks. Let stand 1 minute. Transfer to wire racks, cool. Makes 32.