{recipe} Chocolate-Coated Peanut Butter Crunch Sandwich Cookies

My mother has definitely been my inspiration in the kitchen. Growing up in a Filipino household, food played a very important part of my life from day one. I have many memories of tons of friends and family coming over for various parties and having huge food spreads, with everyone walking through the door bringing one delicious new dish after another. Unlike today where our schools require only store-bought food into the classroom, I remember my mother making super fun jello molds with fruit (come on, anyone else remember those from the late 70′s? I am dating myself…) and various goodies for class parties.

While my mother’s forte was (and still is) definitely in the main and side dishes, my focus in the kitchen has somehow become desserts. When planning parties, I always plan at least two different sweets — and I plan the desserts first.

Growing up, I picked up a few fun and super easy sweet snack recipes from my mom. I recently made these Chocolate Coated Peanut Butter Crunch Sandwich Cookies with my own kids. It brought back fond memories of when my mom first taught me how to make them.

These just require three ingredients likely already in your pantry (four if you want to add toppings), no baking, and hardly any time at all. They are easy enough for little kids to help out: they can spread the peanut butter,  dip the cookies in chocolate, or sprinkle the toppings. The best part: they taste delicious!

Note: This is one of those recipes that has no real measurements, because you put as much peanut butter as you want, as much chocolate as you want, and whatever toppings you want. It’s really a no-fail recipe!

* Ritz crackers

* Creamy peanut butter

* Chocolate chips or chopped semisweet Baker’s chocolate

Optional: sprinkles or other cookie/cupcake toppings

1. Spread some peanut butter onto the unsalted, flat side of a Ritz cracker. Top with a second Ritz cracker to form a sandwich. Your kids can do this while you take care of Step 2.

2. Melt some chocolate chips or chopped Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate in the microwave at intervals of 20-30 seconds, stirring in-between until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly while finishing making the peanut butter cracker sandwiches.

3. Dip peanut butter Ritz cracker sandwiches in the melted chocolate.

4. Place dipped crackers onto a sheet of wax paper placed over a plate. If you wish, at this point you can (or your kids can) add sprinkles or whatever other toppings you want to the top. We gave the ones pictured here a little Valentine’s Day love!

5. Place the chocolate coated peanut butter cracker sandwiches in the refrigerator and chill until the chocolate has hardened (usually takes just a few minutes).

EAT and enjoy! These will keep in a closed container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for about 3-5 days, but trust me: they won’t last that long if you have kids in the house!

About Marlynn Jayme Schotland: Marlynn Jayme Schotland runs on coffee, bacon, red wine, and the Beastie Boys. She is the Editor of Urban Bliss Life, Regional Sales Manager of Plum District (Portland), and Owner/Principal Designer + Strategist of Urban Bliss, LLC .

Tags: chocolate, chocolate and peanut butter cookie, cookie recipe, peanut butter, Ritz cracker recipe