I think it’s safe to say these Peanut Butter Bombes are not good for you in any traditional sense. They aren’t keto or paleo or refined sugar-free. What they are, though, is the taste of joy. A pure and utter indulgence that makes you tingle from toes to nose…that might also be the sugar. There’s no way to tell. I made these with my father in mind. Peanut butter is pretty much his life’s blood at this point and he’s also an ardent fan of caramel and potato chips. So naturally, I turned his favorites into a bombe because a bombe is pretty much three desserts in one. And I will break each layer down in detail and you’ll see these bombes are nothing to fear.
Let’s start with the base. The cookie on the bottom of this Peanut Butter Bombe is a sable cookie but with a very important and very naughty addition – crushed potato chips. Naturally, you don’t have to worry about adding salt to this cookie as the chips will gladly do that for you. The base recipe for these cookies is the same as the one I used for my Raspberry Ricotta Mousse Cakes. Actually, these Peanut Butter Bombes share quite a few similarities with those frothy pink cakes. So if you’re more of a fruit dessert person, I suggest you give those a peak.
The Potato Chip Sable Cookies are a very straightforward bake. And integrating the chips is as simple as crushing and folding them in. The recipe below makes enough dough to make 8 cookies handily. In other words, you will have dough leftover. Simply roll it up into a log and store it in the freezer. And whenever you feel that familiar pang for cookies, you can simply defrost the dough and slice cookies off of the log. Such a simple way to satisfy a nagging sweet tooth.
Next up we have the peanut caramel centers. Now, this is a slightly more involved process. There are specific temperatures to hit and timing is indeed everything. But I promise you, none of this is particularly difficult. These caramels simply require a watchful eye. Just make sure you have everything measured and laid out before you start the process. You don’t want to be scrambling around the kitchen while you have caramel on the stove.
Next, we have the star of the show – the peanut butter mousse. This recipe is once again a modification of the mousse recipe featured in the Raspberry Ricotta Mousse Cakes. I simply replaced the orange juice with milk and the ricotta with peanut butter. Honey is still my sweetener of choice for this mousse. I just think it works better than granulated sugar here. Any liquid sweetner would work as well. If you are keen to use regular sugar or raw sugar, add it to the milk so it has a chance to dissolve. There is nothing worse than a gritty mousse.
And finally, we have the dark chocolate shell. This is infinitely more low-key than the pink mirror glaze I pulled out for the Raspberry Ricotta Mousse Cakes, although it is less resilient. Once the chocolate shell is on the Peanut Butter Bombes be sure to keep them chilled. The coconut oil in the chocolate shell is very sensitive to temperature changes. It sets quickly when it interacts with cold, and melts like you wouldn’t believe in warmer situations. This makes eating it a pleasure, as it readily melts in your mouth but that also means, these are not-for-display desserts. Keep them chilled up until the moment you’re ready to serve.
So that’s every layer of these Peanut Butter Bombes. When they’re broken down into individual steps, they don’t seem quite so overwhelming, right?! Or maybe they do, but the nice thing is the entire process can be spread across multiple days, so you never feel like you’re losing your life to the kitchen. You could make the cookies and caramel one day and tackle the mousse the next. The bombes need to freeze overnight before you can pour the chocolate shell on them anyways, so you can save that for day three. And you can keep these bombes in the fridge 24 hours in advance of serving them. Just be sure to leave the decoration for the last minute.
So that’s everything you need to know about these Peanut Butter Bombes with Potato Chip Sable Cookies. They may not be a health food but they are good for the soul.
Enjoy!
Peanut Butter Bombes with Potato Chip Sable Cookies
Equipment
- 2 Half Sphere Silicon Molds (see note #1)
- A loaf pan
- Candy Thermometer
Ingredients
Potato Chip Sable
- 1 ¼ cup unsalted butter softened, cut into cubes
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup confectioner's sugar sifted
- 4 large egg yolks room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup regular kettle chips crushed
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
Peanut Caramels *see note 2
- 170g (6oz) granulated sugar
- 170g (6oz) evaporated milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 70g (2.5oz) heavy cream
- 145g (5oz) white corn syrup
- 10g (.5oz) unsalted butter
- ½ cup whole salted peanuts
Peanut Butter Mousse
- 2¼ tsp powdered gelatin
- ¼ cup cold water
- ½ cup whole milk
- 375g (13oz) smooth peanut butter not the natural stuff
- ⅓ cup honey
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup heavy cream
Dark Chocolate Shell
- 227g (8oz) dark chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
To Serve
- Additional potato chips
- Additional peanuts
- Sage blossoms optional
Instructions
For the Cookies
- Place the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream the butter and sugars together until smooth and fluffy.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl down and add the egg yolk, one at a time. Once the egg yolks are fully integrated, add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.
- Add the potato chips and the flour and and mix a dense dough forms. Form the dough into a ball on a lightly floured surface and divide it in two. Roll each half out to a 1/4-inch thickness between two sheets of parchment paper. Transfer the dough to the fridge and chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Using a 3" biscuit cutter, cut out 5 cookies from each half. Press the scraps into a log, wrap and freeze for future cookie adventures. Transfer the cut cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden. Once the cookies are golden, leave them to cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in a resealable container for 1 week.
For the Caramel
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease the paper with neutral oil, I used canola oil, and set it aside.
- Combine sugar, evaporated milk, vanilla, and heavy cream in a saucepan. Stir constantly while bringing the mixture up to a boil.
- Add the white corn syrup and, while stirring constantly, continue to cook the mixture over medium heat until a candy thermometer registers 230°F. Stir in the butter.
- Continue to cook while stirring until the mixture reaches 239°F. Take the caramel off of the heat and stir in the peanuts. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and let sit on the counter until the caramel reaches room temperature.
- Once the caramel is cool enough to handle, rip off roughly 1 tablespoon-sized gobs and roll them into spheres. Place them on a platter lined with greased parchment paper and transfer to the fridge until ready to use. You should have more than you need.
For the Mousse
- Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and leave them to gel for 10 minutes.
- Pour the milk into a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Heat the milk until steam gathers on the surface and the milk is on the verge of boiling. Take the milk off of the heat and add the gelatin. Stir until the gelatin dissolves set aside.
- In a bowl whisk to combine the milk, peanut butter, honey, and a salt. Once a smooth mixture has formed, set it aside.
- Pour the cream into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high until stiff peaks form. Spoon the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture and fold to combine. Set aside.
To Assemble
- Fill the 8 sphere moulds up halfway with the peanut butter mousse. Place an orb of caramle in the center of each orb and cover with more peanut mousse. Using a bench scrapper, scrape off the excess mousse so each dome is flush with the surface.
- Top each orb with a cookie and transfer the mold to the freezer. Freeze for 8 hours or until frozen solid.
For the Chocolate Shell
- Place the chocolate and the coconut oil in a heat-proof bowl and place it over a sauce pan filled halfway with simmering water. Stir constantly until the chocolate fully melt and the coconut fully integrates. Pour the chocolate mixture into a heat-proof vessel with a spout.
- Working quickly, unmold the bombes and place them on objects that are narrower in diameter than the bombes over a baking sheet. Pour the chocolate shell over the bombes and chill for at least. 30 minutes.
- When ready to serve, pipe a dollop of any remaining mousse on top of the bombes and adhere a potato chip, a few peanuts, and some sage blossoms to it. Serve immediately.
