Peanut Butter Blossoms

Peanut Butter Blossoms

No, this is not a healthy version.  This is a treat I baked to take to a Halloween party.  I used a basic peanut butter cookie recipe.  Typically, unwrapped Hershey's Kisses are used to garnish the cookies but I found mini Reese's Peanut Butter cups and had to use them for something!  Also, many Peanut Butter Blossom cookie recipes call for the dough to be rolled in granulated sugar before baking but I feel my favorite peanut butter cookie is plenty sweet already and it is unnecessary so I skipped it.


Basic Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup smooth or chunky peanut butter
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda

Heat the oven to 350°F.  Use ungreased cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Combine sugars, peanut butter and butter in a large bowl.  Cream together with electric hand mixer on medium high until smooth and creamy.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat until until well combined.  Add flour and baking soda, mix on medium low speed just until combined.

Scoop dough by tablespoofuls onto cookie sheet; bake on center rack 10 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges.


Makes 60 cookies.



Peanut Butter Blossom variation: I used 2 1/2 cups flour in the dough, but honestly, I think 3 cups total would have made a taller cookie instead of a flat cookie to better hold the candy.  Anyway, make and bake the cookie dough as directed above, adding an extra 1 cup of flour.  Add an unwrapped Hershey's Kiss or mini Reese's Peanut Butter cup and press gently into each cookie immediately after removing the cookie sheet from the oven.  Also, I found that putting the candies in the freezer while the cookies are baking helps minimize the melting when applied to cookies.