A Garden Of Peanut Butter Blossoms

If your on Santa’s naughty list, I have a guaranteed way to hop on over to the nice side. Leave a plate of these easy to make goodies and you’ll be in his favor. The best peanut butter cookie sprinkled with chocolate and love and dressed up for the season.. He’ll get a little bit cookie and a little bit candy. Surely mercy and goodness will follow.

This recipe was chosen by yours truly, for the cookbook project that April and I are doing together. I picked peanut butter blossoms but I put a twist on the blossom part. The recipe said to put a whole peanut butter cup in the center of the cookie to resemble a flower blossom. I used half a PB cup and to make a pot of holly. A few piped leaved and a few gel berries and I had a garden of delicious delights. Be sure to check out Aprils to see her blossoms!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Blossoms
By: Marcel Desaulniers

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1 Tbsp pieces and softened
4 oz. semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
16-18 Miniature Reese’s Peanut butter cups, unwrapped

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or wax paper.

Place the flour, butter, chocolate, 1/2 cup of the sugar, the peanut butter, egg, milk, baking soda, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of a stand electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Mix on low for 1 minute, until combined. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle, then beat on medium for 10 seconds, until a dough forms (it does not take very long) and comes off the bottom of the bowl. Remove the bowl from the mixer. (At this point you will notice this dense dough exudes and amazingly seductive aroma of peanut butter and chocolate, giving you an indication of the good things to come. But due to the presence of raw egg in the dough, please refrain from nibbling any.)

Portion 3 level tablespoons or 1 level #50 ice cream scoop of the dough for each Blossom. Use your hands to form each portion into a smooth ball. Roll the balls in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, lightly coating each.

Place the balls on the baking sheets, about 4 inches apart width wise and 2 inches apart lenghtwise. Place the baking sheets on the top and enter racks of the oven and bake for 10 minutes, until light golden brown, switching the sheets between top and center and rotating each 180 degrees halfway through the baking time.

Remove from the oven and immediately top each Blossom with a peanut butter cup, pressing down so the cup is positioned about halfway into the cookie and creates cracks around the edges (it now resembles a flower blossom). Cool on the baking sheet until room temperature. Store in a tightly sealed plastic container.

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