Day Four: Peanut Butter Blossoms

I think chocolate and peanut butter just might be my favorite combination. I love this cake from Smitten Kitchen and these peanut butter crispy bars from Baked in Brooklyn. I will forever crave Nectar Nuggets, which have to be the best chocolate peanut butter cups EVER, although these new Justin's peanut butter cups are a close second.

You could safely say I'm addicted.

That's why I've always held a special place in my heart, and stomach, for these peanut butter blossoms. Every year before Christmas, my mom and I would bake batch after batch of cookies and store them away, freezing them for the big day. By the time dessert rolled around on Christmas day, I'd usually be so full from dinner that I could only manage some ice cream with homemade hot fudge sauce and one or two cookies.

Despite the fact that we made 10 or 12 kinds of cookies each year, I always chose a peanut butter blossom cookie on Christmas. The combination of sweet chocolate and salty peanut butter always seemed just right.

These cookies are a crowd pleaser. They freeze well. If you are not patient enough to defrost them, no worries. They taste equally delicious straight out of the freezer.

Note: I submitted these blossoms to Di's Kitchen Notebook for her 2nd Annual Virtual Cookie Exchange. Visit her blog to view all the submissions!


Peanut Butter Blossoms
Ingredients
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 dozen Hershey's Kisses, unwrapped

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, peanut butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and light brown sugar in a medium bowl. Add the milk, egg and vanilla, and beat until well blended. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing thoroughly. If dough is very soft, refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray or butter the cookie sheet and set aside. Roll dough into 1-inch balls.

Roll each ball in granulated sugar. Place cookies two inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake for about 8 minutes or until puffy and light golden brown. Remove from the oven and place a Hershey's Kiss in the center of each cookie.

Cool completely and store in an airtight container. These cookies freeze very well.