Never mind those peanut butter cookies with the kiss smashed into them. Yes, they're good, but these have even more peanut butter and chocolate flavor in them. They're crisp on the edges, chewy in the center, and chock-full of peanut butter cups. The cookies are not your typical Christmastime cookie, admittedly. They're actually far better. Instead of a tasteless cardboard base with icing on it, you get a cookie with deep, rich, caramel notes and lots of peanut butter and chocolate flavor. No, the cookies don't "look like Christmas." Yes, they do have incredible taste. So, unless you're out for a decorating award, skip the hassle and mess of fancy cookies and go for these better tasting, addictive Chewy Peanut Butter Cup Cookies. Your family and friends will thank you, probably with mouths full of cookie.
Chewy Peanut Butter Cup Cookies -- Makes about 24
3/4 cup of butter, melted
1 cup of dark brown sugar
1/2 cup of sugar
1 egg, plus 1 yolk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 1/4 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1 bag (11-12 ounces) of peanut butter cups, unwrapped and chopped into 1/4-1/2-inch
bits
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with baking parchment. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, sugars, egg, yolk, and vanilla until thoroughly mixed. Stir/fold in the flour, salt, and baking soda until barely blended (i.e., don't beat them in, fold them in gently). Stir in the chopped peanut butter cups. Drop the dough by 1 1/2 tablespoon portions (preferably using a cookie scoop) onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving about 2 inches in between. Don't put more than nine or ten cookies on a sheet or they'll spread into each other (I know, trust me!). Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. The centers should be puffed and the cookies will look underdone. Take them out of the oven anyway. Let them sit on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes before removing them to let them cool completely (or until you eat them, sweet, warm, and oozing chocolate peanut butter cup pieces). If you want harder cookies--I realize some people actually do, although, sorry, I can't understand why--just give the cookies a couple of minutes more in the oven.
