Fiction-Food Café: Peanut Butter Rover Cookies

In "Voltron: Legendary Defender", S1 EP4, we learn that Pidge looooves peanut butter, especially peanut butter cookies (but not peanuts, because they're too dry). She also loves robots, and, for a time, had a precious little floating pyramid named Rover. 😢

"Well, I like peanut butter, and I like peanut butter cookies, but I hate peanuts, they're so dry. Also I sweat a lot, in general, un-related to the peanuts."

–Pidge, S1 EP4, "Voltron: Legendary Defender"

Haha, okay, Pidge. 🙃

Rover! 😭

Note: The basic triangle design of these cookies are based on Hamantaschen, special cookies often made for Purim, that, in a broad sense, symbolize victory. Dear little Rover was victorious unto death.
Also, I baked my cookies for a little too long, so yours should be a tad lighter than what you see in the photos!

Pidge's Peanut Butter Rovers

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp. Shortening (great if it's butter-flavored shortening)
2 Tbsp. Butter
1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter + more for filling
(NOT chunky PB! Pidge doesn't like peanuts, remember?)
1 Egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Cup Flour
1/4 tsp. Baking Powder
Pinch Salt
Mini Green M&Ms + a few Red ones if you'd like
1/3 Cup Black Candy Melts

Directions:
1. In a mixing bowl, blend together the shortening, butter, & both sugars until light & creamy. Add in the peanut butter, blend, & then add the egg & vanilla, & mix until well combined.

2. In a seperate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, & salt. Add this in gradually to the shortening/sugar mixture until a nice dough forms.

3. Lay a large sheet of plastic wrap on a flat surface & place the dough in the center. Flour a rolling pin & roll the cookie dough to about 1/8" (or near as you can get, under 1/4"), & then lay another sheet of plastic on top, slide onto a baking tray, & chill in the fridge for several hours or overnight (or speed it up in the freezer for about 10-15 mins).

4. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Peel off the top plastic from the rolled dough & cut the dough in half to make it more manageable. Flip one flat dough half onto the parchment tray & cut out as many 2 1/2" - 3" circles as you can. Remove the extra dough from around the edges & flatten it & fold it up with the remaining dough, & then place it in the fridge until needed.

5. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of peanut butter into the center of each cookie dough circle. Using a floured butterknife or offset spatula, and working on one cookie at a time, gently fold one circle edge up toward the center, creating about a 1/2" overlap. Fold another edge over, at about a 50º angle to the first (doesn't have to be exact, of course), & then fold the last edge over (dipping the knife into flour as needed) creating a triangle cookie with a little triangle window of peanut butter peeking out of the center (if you'd like, tuck the last fold under where it intersects with the first).

6. Place a mini green M&M in the center of each cookie, using the optional, occasional red mini M&M as you like. Place this tray of cookies into the freezer for about 10-15 minutes while you preheat your oven to 400ºF.

7. Remove the cookies from the freezer & use the flat knife to gently pry them from the parchment to reposition them on the tray to at least an inch apart. Slide in the over & bake for about 12 minutes, or until the bottoms are just beginning to brown. Remove from the oven & slide the parchment with the cookies onto a wire cooling rack. Repeat steps 4-7 until all of the dough is used up (you'll get about 18-20 cookies).

8. Once the cookies are completely cool, melt the black candy melts in a small bowl in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring each time (adding a tiny amount of E-Z Thin Dipping Aide/Paraffin Crystals or even a touch of canola or coconut oil helps). Spoon the melt into a candy decorating bag, sturdy plastic baggie, or thin tipped squeeze bottle. Snip a tiny opening if using a bag, & then outline the center triangle of the cookies, & then pipe lines connecting points to points. Lastly, pipe the slightly zig-zag-ish pattens on the sides of the triangles. Let the cookies set for a few minutes for the candy melt harden, and then serve, or store in an airtight container. These would be so cute as gifts; one or two put in a little clear cellophane bag tied with a green ribbon!