On Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is {chocolate peanut butter globs}

I spent much of November thinking about important things like gratitude and thankfulness.  And if you’ve been on blogs, or Pinterest, or ever watched Oprah, then you’ve probably had someone tell you that these are important muscles to strengthen.  November is all about working them out.  How many friends of yours posted something they were thankful for every day on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram?  A million?  Me too.  I’ve done it myself before.

But I didn’t this year, mostly because I never got enough get-go to start.

And kind of sort of also because this whole celebrate thing has me thinking about action.  I can easily find something to be grateful for each day.  And I should.  That’s important.  But I could also act on those things.  Maybe not every day, but a lot of the time, I could.  I just don’t.  Cue December.  Another month perfect for cultivating a thankful attitude.  So this month, as I go through the holiday motions, with less of a focus on gifts, and more of a focus on gratitude, I want to make sure the people and things I’m grateful for know and feel that they’re important to me.

Cookies, I find, are always a great way to show gratitude.  These are some of the best I’ve had in a while.  They’re a riff on Ina’s chocolate peanut butter globs, and they’re amazing.

To make at least 2 dozen, you will need:

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 extra-large eggs
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder, such as Medaglia d’Oro
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

almost one full bag of Reese’s peanut butter cups, choppedRead more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chocolate-peanut-butter-globs.html?oc=linkback

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a few sheet pans with parchment paper.In a bowl set over simmering water, melt the butter, 6 ounces of the chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate, stirring occasionally, until just melted. Remove from the heat and cool for 15 minutes.In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, espresso powder, and vanilla until combined. Add the sugar, raise the speed to medium-high, and beat for 2 minutes, until the batter is thick and falls back on itself in a ribbon. Set aside.

With the mixer on low, slowly add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture. Combine the 1/3 cup of flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and fold it into the chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula. In another bowl, combine the peanut butter cups, the remaining 6 ounces of chocolate chips, and the tablespoon of flour, and fold it into the chocolate mixture. With 2 soup spoons, drop rounded mounds of batter 1 inch apart onto the prepared sheet pans. Bake for 15 minutes exactly. Cool on the baking sheets.