Monday, December 8, 2014

Peanut Butter Blossom Holiday #Cookies by Karen Rose Smith


I baked our first holiday favorite cookies today--Peanut Butter Blossoms. What better combination than peanut butter and chocolate buds? They're pretty, too, as well as delicious. This is a small batch--about 30 cookies. Perfect for any family or gathering. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

PEANUT BUTTER BLOSSOM COOKIES

36 chocolate buds--I used Wilbur's because I didn't have to unwrap! I use a mix of dark and milk chocolate
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons granulated sugar separate from above for rolling cookie balls

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. I line the cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Stir and set aside. In a large mixer bowl beat the shortening and peanut butter with an electric mixer until well-blended. Add 1/3 cup of sugar and 1/3 cup of brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla and beat until well blended. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture on low speed until it's combined.

Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in the granulated sugar. Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. When you remove the cookies from the oven, immediately set chocolate bud into the middle of the cookie. Cookies will make blossom shape. Remove the cookies with a spatula to a wire rack to cool completely. They take longer to cool than most cookies because the chocolate softens in the warm cookie and has to harden again before storing.

Makes about 30-36 cookies.

Have a wonderful holiday!

Email me at karen@karenrosesmith.com if you'd like to sign up for my newsletter. My January issue of IN TOUCH will have an original cookie recipe for my readers as well as cute kitty photos!

©2014 Karen Rose Smith