Peanut Butter Kisses
Don’t let their fancy ways fool you, peanut butter kisses are one of the easiest cookies to make, and one I always include in my holiday cookie collection. The trick to the best looking cookies is to roll the balls of dough much smaller than you would think and underbaking slightly to compensate and preserve chewiness.
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter (one stick) 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1/2 cup peanut butter 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose wheat or white spelt) 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt chocolate kisses, unwrapped (about 48–I use Hershey’s brand).
Method
1. Before you do anything else, unwrap the number of chocolate kisses you will be using. If you bake all of the dough from this recipe, you should have about 48 cookies. 2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 3. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. 4. Add egg, peanut butter and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Tip: Swirl the egg around the 1/2 cup measuring cup before measuring the peanut butter and the peanut butter won’t stick to the measuring cup5. In a small bowl, measure out flour, baking soda and salt. Stir, then add to egg mixture. Tip: Don’t scoop the flour out of the bag or canister with the measuring cup, you will pack the flour down and get too much. Use a spoon to fluff the flour then scoop it gently into the measuring cup.6. When the dough is thoroughly combined, roll into small balls (about 1″ diameter) and place evenly on cookie sheet. Tips: I usually do just a few at first to make sure I have the size down. Once I know the size to get the right cookie to chocolate ratio, I go into mass production. I also do not recommend using a non-stick pan–the dark coating can cause cookies to burn.7. Bake in the oven 10 minutes, or until just set. 8. Remove and place entire cookie sheet and cookies on cooking rack. While cookies are still warm, press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. 9. Gently remove to cooling rack and let cool completely. Tip: The kisses will melt while sitting on the hot cookie, but will retain their signature shape as long as they aren’t moved or touched. Make sure you let them cool completely! I love these, and the peanut butter kiss is a classic that no Christmas cookie collection should be without. Enjoy!
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