My daughter is home sick today, and nothing cheers up my kids like homemade cookies. The favorite cookie recipe in our household is “Peanut Butter Blossoms.” My grandmother and my husband’s grandmother used to make them, and I found a recipe in a magazine years ago. We were almost out of the required Hershey’s Kisses (although I prefer them with chocolate stars, but they are so hard to find). So I used what we had, including some milk chocolates that were a Christmas gift. The cookies look a little odd with the different shapes on top, but they are still delicious. My children are having fun deciding which chocolate shape to choose each time they take a cookie. A tip for you, don’t use separated peanut butter with the oil floating on top. I tried that once since I thought it would be healthier, and the cookies did not turn out well. I find that regular old creamy Skippy peanut butter works the best. You could also make them with dark chocolate pieces of you prefer. Recipe to follow after the photo..
Peanut Butter Blossoms
48 chocolate kisses or pieces, 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened), 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar, 1 egg, 2 Tbs milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, granulated sugar for rolling
Heat oven to 375F degrees. Remove foil from chocolates if there is any. Beat butter and peanut butter until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Beat well. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually beat into the peanut butter mixture. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls (I use a small ice cream scoop). Roll in granulated sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 minutes or until lightly cracked on top. Remove from oven and with cookies still on the cookie sheets, immediately press a chocolate lightly into the center of each cookie. The cookie will crack more around the edges. Remove the cookies from the cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. Makes about 4 dozen cookies~