Two Tone Chocolate Peanut Butter Stars

I must say that I simply adore the look of these cookies.
I believe that the recipe is originally from the Cookie Bible, but since I jotted it down some time ago, it is quite dfficult for me to say precisely. I also found the same original recipe online in at least one place, so it is entirely possible that I saw it somewhere else, though I will still attribute its origin to that book. The book is actually easy to read and gives lots of clever tips on baking. I was impressed by the fact that it has so many illustrations and photos, which I did not really expect for some reason. I suppose I am a bit skeptical of anything that names itself as a (fill-in-the-blank) Bible. There is just so much to know about any subject and, as the fact that the cookbook section in the store is huge, no one book can really capture everything.
But back to the cookies.
These were actually much easier to make than they appear to be. The doughs are simply rolled out and the cut out shapes are mixed and matched to create the two-tone effect. I added some cocoa to the chocolate dough to deepen the flavor further, but bouth doughs turned out wonderfully. They were also very easy to handle and kept their shape during baking. Every cookie looked professionally done! The only note that I would make that is substantially different from the original recipe is to recommend freezing the doughs or, at the very least, the peanut butter dough, which was very soft and warmed up to quickly after only having been refrigerated.
The finished cookies were buttery and crisp, with and excellent deep chocolate flavor. The peanut butter cookies weren't overpowering, and the flavor of the peanut butter was about equal to the buttery flavors in the cookie. This helped it meld well with the chocolate dough.
The only problem with working with a chocolate dough like this is that it can be difficult to tell when the cookies are done. I recommend baking a batch of the peanut butter ones first. When the edges just barely begin to brown, the cookies are done. They should take just about 12-13 minutes, if you roll them ¼ inch thick, though a thicker cooker will take an extra minutes and a thinner cookie might be done slightly more quickly.

Two-Tone Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
(adapted from the Cookie Bible)

Chocolate Dough
1 cup butter, soft
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

2 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

2 1/4 cups ap flour

2 tbsp cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Peanut Butter Dough

1 cup sugar

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup butter, soft

1 egg

3 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups ap flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Mix chocolate dough:

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg, followed by vanilla and melted chocolate. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low speed, or by hand, add flour mixture to chocolate mixture and beat until combined. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze until firm, at least 1 hour.

Mix peanut butter dough:
In a large bowl, cream together butter, peanut butter and sugar. Beat in egg, followed by milk and vanilla. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low speed, or by hand, add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture and beat until combined. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until firm, at least 1 hour.

Assemble and bake:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Line a baking sheet and a work surface with parchment paper.

Roll out doughs from 1/8-1/2 inch thick (3 mm) and use a 2-3 inch cookie cutter to cut large shapes. Use a small cookie cutter to remove the centers and switch them, creating a two tone effect. Gather up unused dough and reroll up to three total times, freezing again for a few minutes, if necessary to make the dough easier to work with.

Bake for 12-13 minutes, until the edges of the peanut butter (since the chocolate is harder to see) cookies are lightly browned.

Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 4-5 dozen, depending on cutter size.