Penny Sous * Part 1 Of 2

Servings: 24
Ingredients:

24    Whole Virginia peanuts
-unsalted, shelled
1/2 c  Heavy cream
6 T  Creamy peanut butter
14 oz Semi-sweet chocolate;
-broken into 1/2 oz pieces

Equipment: 3 baking sheets with sides, film wrap,
instant-read test thermometer, cake spatula, 1
1/2-inch round cookie cutter, parchment paper, pastry
bag, medium straight tip

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Toast the peanuts on
a baking sheet in the preheated oven until golden
brown, about 6 to 7 minutes. Remove the peanuts from
the oven and set aside until needed.

Heat the heavy cream and the peanut butter in a 1
1/2-qt saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir with a
whisk to combine thoroughly. Bring the mixture to a
boil. Place 6 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate in a
stainless steel bowl. Pour the boiling cream and
peanut butter mixture over the chocolate, and allow to
stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. Stir until
smooth. Refrigerate the peanut butter ganache for 30
minutes.

Cover the bottom of a baking sheet with film wrap.
Heat 1 inch of water in the bottom half of a double
boiler over medium heat. Place the remaining 8 ounces
of semi-sweet chocolate in the top half. Heat the
chocolate uncovered, while stirring constantly, until
it has melted, about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the
melted chocolate to a stainless steel bowl, and
continue to stir until the temperature of the
chocolate is reduced to 90 degrees, about 5 minutes.

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