Loaded Peanut Butter Cookies

Ok, these are SO much better than the ever-popular peanut butter blossoms (the PB cookies with the Hershey Kisses on them)! They’re bigger, chewer, and full of more peanut butter goodness with all of the Reese’s Pieces and mini Peanut Butter Cups tucked inside them.

To make all that scooping of cookie dough a little easier, I used my favorite scoop.

If you’re going to make the full recipe, make sure you use a HUGE bowl, other wards the dough won’t fit! This recipe can easily be halved.

Look how lovely!

Loaded Peanut Butter Cookies

5 C all purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 1/2 C butter, room temp
1/2 C shortening, room temp
2 C granulated sugar
2 C brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 t vanilla extract
Peanut butter mixture (see below)
1 ½ C Reese's Pieces

1 ½ C mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (I found them at Target)

Peanut Butter Mixture

16 oz peanut butter
4 oz (1 stick) butter, room temp
4 oz honey

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Make the peanut butter mixture by creaming the peanut butter, butter, and honey, then set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, set aside.

In a mixer, cream 1 1/2 cups of butter, shortening and both sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla and the peanut butter mixture and mix until well incorporated.

Gradually add in the flour mixture and beat on low speed until fully incorporated.

Place cookie dough about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. I used my favorite scoop that holds about 4 tablespoons of dough (or 1/4 cup).  

The dough before it went into the oven.

Bake for 11-12 minutes, rotating pans half-way through baking. 

DO NOT over bake the cookies!  The cookies will just start to look a little golden around the edges. Remove cookies from the oven and let them sit on the baking sheets for 2-3 minutes. Then remove them from the cookie sheets and place them on a cooling rack. Cool the cookies completely, and store them in an airtight container.

Makes about 50-60, large cookies

Source: Adapted from Elle’s New England Kitchen

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Metamorphosis Monday

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