Peanut Butter Fudge Tarts

Peanut Butter Fudge Tarts by Tiffany

What can be better than peanut butter and chocolate, right?! I think the two are a match made in heaven! What about you? These easy tarts are made with my great grandmother’s peanut butter cookie recipe and are filled with a chocolate fudgy center. Enjoy!

Yields 24 mini tarts

*SEE NOTES*

Ingredients

For The Tarts

• 1/2 cup salted butter, room temp.
• 1/2 cup Crisco
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

For The Fudge

• 1 cup semi sweet chips
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spray a twenty-four cup mini muffin pan with non stick cooking spray. Set aside.
3. In a standing mixer, cream butter, Crisco, white sugar, brown sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in eggs, vanilla and peanut butter.
5. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon and baking soda.
6. Slowly stir flour mixture into creamed mixture. Beat until combined.
7. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, smash each ball gently between your palms. Place each disk of dough into prepared cups. Make an indention in the middle of each.
8. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F. oven for 9 minutes. (Try not to over bake.)
9. Remove tarts from oven, use the back of a 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon and make a small indention in each tart shell. Let tarts cool in the mini muffin tin on a wire rack. Once cooled, remove tarts from muffin pan and place on cooling rack.
10. Let’s make the fudge filling ~ In a medium sauce pan, combine semi sweet chips and sweetened condensed milk over medium heat, stirring continually until chips melt. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Spoon or pipe filling into the center of each cooled tart shell. Allow filling to set before serving. Store left over tarts in a sealed container.

NOTES: The tarts/cookies were baked two times, once at 9 minutes and the other at 11 minutes. I found that 9 minutes was perfect. It developed a soft tart/cookie, where as the 11 minutes was over baked in my opinion and developed a crunchy tart/cookie. I thought the soft tart complemented the soft fudge center, where as the crunchy tart was a bit dry for my taste. Totally up to you, but just wanted to let you know. It really all depends if your a crunchy or soft kinda cookie monster. 😉

Additional notes: The original recipe called for pre-bought peanut butter cookie dough, just in case you have some on hand.

Original recipe by: Better Homes and Gardens – Off The Shelf Baking pg. 203

Adapted recipe/photos by: Tiffany

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