Peanut Butter Cookie Cups

Okay, so I just couldn't do it. Once I got myself up and started baking, the baking bug took over! The Chocolate Chip Cookie Pretzel Bars had to bake for 30 minutes, so I figured I would just go ahead and bite the bullet and get these ready to put in the oven when they were ready. Otherwise, I had planned to get up early and make them before work, but for those of you that know me well, you know that I am NOT a morning person!

I have made peanut butter blossoms before, peanut butter cookies topped with a Hershey's kiss, but this were taking things to a whole new level with a mini Reese's peanut butter cup! I found these on Coleen's Recipes, and she referred to them as the "Ultimate" filled peanut butter cookie, they sure did live up to their name! Everyone loved them so much, that they were gone before some of our guests even arrived (sorry, Karen, Kyle, Drew & Liz)! I couldn't believe how incredibly easy these were to make, they look rather tedious, but really the hardest part is just unwrapping all the little Reese's cups!

Peanut Butter Cookie Cups

adapted from Coleen's Recipes

24 mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, frozen
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter flavored Crisco (I didn't have butter, so I used regular, it seemed to work fine)
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the Crisco, peanut butter, sugars, egg and vanilla until it is smooth and creamy. Next, add the dry ingredients and beat just until smooth. Roll the dough into 24 1-inch balls and place in ungreased mini-muffin pan.

Bake for 10 minutes until they puff up and are slightly browned. They will look like this below.


After removing them from the oven, immediately press a FROZEN mini Reese's cup into the center of each cookie, pressing down until the top of the candy is at the same level as the top of the cookie.

Let them cool in the pan for about 2 minutes before you try to remove them. To remove, insert just the tip of a thin knife between the cookie and the pan. Place on a cooling rack to cool completely. The chocolate will melt from the heat, so allow them to fully re-set (you can even pop them in the fridge to speed up the process) before serving.