Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Oh do I have a treat for you today! :) I have to say, I have always steered pretty clear of making my own chocolate chip cookies. Im not entirely sure why, but I would say its down to the fact that my first few attempts (a long longgggg time ago) produced overly sweet poor imitations of bakery cookies which just didn't float my boat. These however, putting my Gran's ginger biscuits to one side, I am pretty darn sure are my favourite cookie discovery to date. I am rather proud of them I have to say!

Pecan Pillows

Ok...this is big news...there may just be a new contender for my favourite cookie! No disrespect Gran, your's will always be top of course :) But these give me serious pause for thought!

I realise this is my second stuffed cookie recipe in a row, but there's something about that hidden middle that makes me feel like an excited kid again. Especially when you don't warn the happy receiver (as long as you know they don't have a nut allergy in this case...that would be less fun..) and have that excited little internal 'I know a secret that you are about to find out and love me forever' dance whilst expectantly watching their face for a reaction...yes I do this every time, and no it never gets old for me!

Please click any photo if you wish to enlarge it :)

Raspberry Cheesecake Stuffed Chocolate Cookies

That's one lengthy name huh! I think they should just be called delicious, or spectacular, or maybe more suitably 'pain in the behind cookies'...because life has a cruel sense of humour and these cookies are so scrummy but I have never before cursed at cookie dough balls so much in all my life! I'm not going to lie to you, if you are looking for a quick fix treat to quash that niggling need for something sweet, this most certainly ain't it! But what you do get for all your hard work is the love child of a deeply chocolatey cookie with a fruity creamy cheesecake, thats one sexy offspring.

Imagine the smile on unsuspecting guests faces as they take their first bite, the initial sensation is of the crisper sugar-coated cookie edges and an unexpectedly intense chocolatey rush. Then you sink into a soft, smoooooth, subtly berry tinted filling that contrasts beautifully. Truly addicting let me tell you! Oh and they are just so pretty :)

Sadly these really are the most fiddly sticky downright stubborn things to make that I have ever experienced, kinda backwards as I was expecting the Almond Tart to be the pain in the derriere not these cute innocent looking things! I learnt some tricks along the way to make the process a little less expletive-inducing and will include these in the recipe/notes below. The problem is the dough really is not made for stuffing, it's a pretty soft mix that does set up alright after a good chill but as soon as you start to roll it in your mitts it attaches itself to everything! Then try locking in a blob of liquidy filling in the middle of a squished sticky ball, its a learning curve I can tell you!