Chocolate Peanut Butter Puffs
April 13, 2008
Do these look like they took two minutes to make? I sure don’t think so. But they did!
I bought a package of frozen puff pastry this weekend intending to make Nigella’s Chocolate Croissants. However, the box I happened to pick up had a recipe on the back for Chocolate Peanut Butter Puffs. It’s like we were destined for each other. Box, you have fulfilled your destiny.
This dessert beats the other fastest / easiest recipe I have ever put together which was Chocolate Creme Fraiche Pots from Food Network, which is fantastic but takes at least a few minutes. Another great quality is that the recipe was very easy to reduce (read: easy math for my simple mind). This is what I did, since only two people were eating them instead of a whole dinner party.
While my taste tester preferred them fresh out of the oven and didn’t think they kept well the next day, I thought they tasted great in both states. The first day the dough was crispier and the filling was gooey and warm, the next day the dough was less crispy, with a firm chocolate peanut butter filling. The second day’s state almost tasted like a chocolate peanut butter candy bar that was enrobed in a croissant. Super yum.
My only issue with it is that I wish I had mixed a bit of sugar into the peanut butter. I thought (especially when they were hot) they could have been a little sweeter. Though maybe a sprinkle of powdered sugar or a dollop of whipped cream would have done it for me. I also think this might help presentation-wise, as though they look adorable, the marshmallows do get a bit shriveled looking. Hide your wrinkles under powdered sugar - it’s a cosmetic miracle! Wait, we’re talking desserts here, not age-defying make-up. Moving on…
The following recipe is slightly modified from Pepperidge Farm’s Website. It makes a mere 3 muffin sized puffs, but it’s easy math if you want to make more than that.
Yields 3 puffs
Ingredients
1/3 sheet Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry
3 tsp creamy peanut butter (I used jif - natural would be fine if you added some sugar before tossing it in the pastry)
3 Tbsp Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips
12 miniature marshmallows
Directions
1. Thaw pastry sheet at room temperature 30 min. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease muffin tins lightly with butter.
2. Roll pastry on lightly floured surface. Cut sheet into 3 - 3" squares. Press squares into 3" muffin-pan cups. Place 1 tsp. peanut butter in center of each. Top each with 1 Tbsp bittersweet chocolate chips and 4 marshmallows.
3. Bake 12 minutes or until just golden. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 min. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Makes 3 puffs.
I have to say that we did not wait the 10 minutes to eat these. We ate them straight out of the oven and almost burnt our mouths on the boiling hot chocolate. Smart? Maybe not. Delicious? Oh yes. :)