Let's say I was a bit surprised when Staples contacted me to ask if I wanted to do a review for them. My response was something like, "dudes, you do know this is a dessert blog, right?"
But I stayed with them, and I was glad I did. Because for one thing, I learned that apparently supplying food (including snacks and sweets) to offices and corporate accounts is a very big part of Staples' business. Who knew?
Additionally, I was glad because they offered to give me a tablet to test out with my bloggity-blogging. I was just fine with this. I like stuff like that.
So Staples went ahead and sent me a parcel including a tablet--the Nexus 7--and a big tin of cookies. The picture to the left shows me taking a picture of the tablet with my phone after opening it. Whoa, technology rabbit hole! I was especially excited about these Dansk cookies, because my grandma always used to buy them for us, and I would zero right in on the pretzel cookies. I mean, they're sweet! Cookies! But they LOOK like pretzels! It confounded my 6-year old mind. I was happy to see the cookies again.
So, first, since they were nice enough to send it, my thoughts on the Nexus. I connected it to my at home wifi connection and used it to find some baking ideas which I could use with the butter cookies. I found that it connected very fast, seamlessly, and that the visuals were very nice. I also found that it was VERY handy to use for displaying recipes in the kitchen--so much easier than a laptop. And easier to clean.
Also nice--the Nexus was easy to hook up my google account with, so it was very easy to plug in all of my info. I found that while it wasn't quite easy to say, create a blog post, on the tablet, it was very easy to log in and make changes to existing blog posts or respond to comments.
But anyway, let's get back to those cookies. Like I said, apparently Staples sells a lot of food. And surprisingly, a lot of it is dessert or sweet stuff.
What I did with those cookies is this. First, I opened them up and took a nice long look. Then I asked, "are you ready to meet your destiny?". There was no response.
Then, I mashed them all up and mixed them with half a stick of butter. I then pressed it into a foil-lined 8x8-inch pan.
Next, I warmed a jar of dark chocolate peanut butter, and poured it right on top. I spread it as gently as possible.
After that, I melted 4 ounces of semisweet chocolate and spread it on top (again as gently as possible). Then I topped it all with sprinkles.
I let it chill in the fridge overnight, and in the morning I had a deliciously decadent snack. Shortbready! Chocolatey! Peanut buttery! Swoon. Staples may have given me the means, but I made it even better. YUM.
Buttery Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Treats (Printable recipe here!)
Ingredients
- 3/4 tin of Dansk Cookies (about 30 cookies)
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
- Dash salt, if you want
- 1 jar peanut butter (I used Dark Chocolate Dreams by Peanut Butter and Co.)
- 4 squares semisweet chocolate (1 ounce each)
Procedure
- Line an 8x8-inch pan with foil. Set aside.
- Crush the cookies until they are fairly fine crumbs. Mix with the butter, stirring well. Add in the salt.
- Press into the bottom of the foil lined pan. Press it down well.
- Warm the peanut butter until it is pourable. Pour on top of the cookie crust. Spread with a spatula, trying not to upset the cookie crumbs below. Put the pan in the fridge for the moment.
- In a double boiler, melt the semisweet chocolate. Once melted and pourable, remove the pan from the fridge; gently pour the chocolate over the peanut butter layer on your bars. Use a spatula to spread. Try to do this quickly as the peanut butter will get soft and start to mix with the top layer.
- Top with sprinkles, if desired. Put back in the fridge and let set until firm before serving (2 hours or so). Keep chilled.
Full disclosure, Staples provided me with this Nexus tablet. However, the words and opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own. To see the full line of tablets visit Staples.com.