Magic Middles

I'm so glad that I kept working with these cookies. They were not feeling so "magical" for a while there. Quite honestly, these cookies were so messy when I first started rolling the dough, I nearly just slung them out the window. Can we say squirrel food?!?! But, I really wanted them to work. The recipe looked so good. Unfortunately, the more I rolled , the more my hands looked like they had been covered in tar. Finally,just as I was about to accept defeat, I went to wash my hands. But then my OCD-ness kicked in and I went back to the dough to give it just one more chance to cooperate. Can you believe with just that little bit of water on my hands (that I had neglected to dry off ), the dough did not stick anymore. After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I continued rolling my little chocolate cookies with ease. I don't know why I didn't think of it. Its my number one tip for rice krispie treats. I always say "Wet your hands, and that marshmallow goo won't stick to you." So just remember to keep that in mind when making these yummy cookies. It will save you a world of frustration.
The simplicity of the ingredients is probably what attracted me to this recipe. You use brownie mix. At this stage of the Christmas baking, I'm all about ease. The worst part of this was the rolling the chocolate dough, but after I realized keeping my hands wet helped the dough not to stick, it was easy sailing from that point forward. If you love peanut butter and chocolate, these cookies are absolutely worth the effort. Enjoy!

Magic Middles
INGREDIENTS
1 (19.5-oz.) box Fudge Brownie Mix
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
4 oz. cream cheese (from 8-oz. pkg.), softened
1 egg
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, beat brownie mix, melted butter, cream cheese and egg 50 strokes with spoon until well blended (dough will be sticky-they weren't joking about this!).
2. Wet hands slightly or they will look like this (and it will only get worse):

On a side note: Is it just me or does my hand look fat in this picture? Maybe it was just the chocolate :)
Roll dough into 2" balls (sorry Momma, sometimes there's just no other term to be used:) Keep hands damp while rolling. Set aside.
3. In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and peanut butter with spoon until mixture forms a ball. With hands, roll rounded teaspoonfuls peanut butter mixture into 24 balls. Take chocolate ball and lightly flatten it in your hand and wrap around a ball of peanut butter dough. It will look like this as you start to wrap your chocolate around your peanut butter::

4. Bake at 350°F. for 10 to 14 minutes or until edges are set. Cool on cookie sheets at least 30 minutes.
5. Remove from cookie sheets.

Now, you have to bite into one to see what all the "Magic" is about! These technically could have used a little more time to cool, but I had a baby dangling off my leg so I had to hurry. Let yours cool all the way.