FUDGE FILLED PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

This impressive (but very simple) cookie will be great for the holidays. It consists of a sweet peanut butter cookie shell, filled with a rich fudge filling. When you first make the cookies, the filling is soft enough to pipe (or you can spoon it into the shell). However, after it completely cools, the filling is the consistency of a soft fudge. They are delicious, and look so pretty!!!

 ½ cup butter (room temperature)
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
.
Cream the above ingredients together until smooth, then add:
.
1¼ cups all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
.
Beat everything until very smooth. Shape dough into 1" balls (makes about 4 dozen) and place each ball into the bottom of a mini muffin tin (ungreased) like this:
Bake in a preheated 375 oven for about 10-11 minutes or until they look like this:

After they are baked, find something in your kitchen that has a round end that you can use to press down on the center of these HOT cookies (to make the shell shape). I used the large rounded end of my mortar and pestle, but anything will work. Just be careful not to press so hard that you break through to the bottom. They should look like this:

Let these cookies cool (in the pan) for 10 minutes, then use a thin (but pointed) paring knife to assist you in lifting the cookie shells out of the pan (they come out pretty easy). Cool shells on a baking rack.

.

FILLING

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water (I just used the microwave). With an electric mixer, beat in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until smooth. Fill the cookies.

The fudge dries to the touch after it is completely cooled.