These cookies are great for celebrating your kids' return to school, whether in-person or on-line. I recognize that it's tough for many parents and kids now. You need to make decisions about how to manage the new learning environment, and patience--on anyone's part--is often limited. Unfortunately, the cookie recipe I'm posting here won't magically give you more patience. Nonetheless, sitting down with your children, some cookies, and glasses of milk (or coffee or tea for you, if you'd prefer), isn't such a bad thing. My view is that cookies are great conversation starters. They soothe the "hangry" beast, making talking and listening a greater possibility. The recipe I'm posting here for peanut butter cup cookies is a great "kid cookie." Adults scarf them down, too. The cookies take minutes to mix up, and your child or children can help by unwrapping the peanut butter cups. You can make the cookies in the air fryer in 10-15 minutes, meaning warm, fresh cookies are minutes away. The cookies are a little crispy on the edges and filled with chopped peanut butter cups--meaning they're chocolatey and sweet. And if you teach your children how to make the cookies, well, maybe you can incorporate a mini-lesson in measuring and chemistry as well as develop a ready source of future cookies...
Air Fryer Back to School Peanut Butter Cup Cookies -- Makes 12+
2 tablespoons of butter, melted
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 cup of quick oats
1/2 cup of flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
3/4 cup of chopped chocolate peanut butter cups (about half an 11-12-ounce bag, not
counting the ones that got eaten during the unwrapping process)
1/2 cup of rice crispies/crispy rice cereal
In a medium bowl or measure (I use a quart Pyrex measure) combine the melted butter, oil, and sugars. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the oats, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda until incorporated. Fold in the chopped peanut butter cups and rice crispies. Cut pieces of baking parchment into 6-7-inch squares to fit your air fryer basket. Place 2-3 scoops of cookie dough onto each piece of parchment. Each scoop should be about 1 1/2 tablespoons, and you'll need to position the dough as far apart as possible on the parchment. With your hand flatten each dough ball so that it's about an inch thick. Put one cookie topped piece of parchment in the air fryer (in the basket) and set the control for 320 degrees. Cook the dough for about 10 minutes (check at 8 minutes) or until the cookies are golden brown and barely set. Don't wait until the cookies are completely set or your cookies will be too hard in the middle after they've cooled. Remove the cookies from the air fryer and repeat the process with the remaining dough. Alternatively, you can make as many cookies as you want/need and refrigerate the remainder of the dough to bake another day. Fresh hot cookies for tomorrow, too? Not a bad option!
