Peanut butter lava cookie

I just love friends.  I especially love them when they give you incredible ideas.


 Take my friend Kristen.  She has a wonderful blog called From My Tiny Kitchen that I've mentioned several times on this site.  Last Friday, she posted this recipe for chocolate chip cookie lava cakes.


This recipe intrigued me.  It looked amazing, and it got my mind spinning of all of the possibilities that could branch off of it.  There are so many different types of cookies in this world - what if each one was made into a lava cake?  An oatmeal cookie with butterscotch lava would be divine.  A chocolate chocolate chip cookie with marshmallow lava.  A peanut butter cookie with Nutella lava...well, you get the idea.

For my lava cookie, I decided to use up some ingredients that I had lying around.  I made some of my 4-ingredient peanut butter cookie dough and then grabbed the chocolate chips and caramel sauce that were left over after making those amazing oatmeal carmelitas.



Have I mentioned that this isn't going to be healthy?  Well...it's not.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

I sprayed the inside of a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray and pressed peanut butter cookie dough into the bottom and up the sides.


Then, I filled the middle with chocolate chips...


...and then I drizzled caramel sauce over the top until I'd filled in all empty space between chocolate chips.


I almost grabbed a spoon and started eating right then.  Wouldn't you?

Remembering that chocolate is often better when it is gooey, I decided to forgo the early eating and finish the thing.  I topped the concoction off with more peanut butter cookie dough...


...and then I baked it at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.


I let this beauty cool for about 10 minutes, and then I flipped it over onto parchment paper (all my dishes are packed for our move!) and drizzled it with caramel.


And then...the moment of truth...


YES!  The ooey-gooey chocolately caramely deliciousness that filled this peanut butter cup was absolutely amazing!  It was also so rich that I can't imagine eating an entire cookie by myself...unless I had a massive glass of milk.

Thanks, Kristen, for this wonderful idea!  I hope it inspires a whole host of filled cookies.

Now I want to hear...what lava cookie would YOU create?

This recipe is linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday , Tasty Tuesday, and Tuesdays at the Table