Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies

We have loved these cookies for years. Not only do we make them throughout the year, but it’s always fun to receive them too.

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter (softened)
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
Additional sugar for rolling
Enough chocolate kisses to add one per cookie

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt.
Add the butter and the peanut butter and mix until smooth.
Add white and brown sugars and mix until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, vanilla and milk and mix until smooth.
Shape dough into balls and roll in sugar.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart and bake for 8 minutes.
Remove from oven and add 1 kiss to the center of each cookie.
Return to the oven and bake for 1-2 more minutes.
We really like peanut butter, so will sometimes add a bit more. If you don’t want such a strong peanut butter taste, use a bit less peanut butter.
You can also add food dye to the cookie dough. At the various holidays you can make different colored cookies. For Valentines Day, add red food coloring. For Christmas, make one batch of red cookies and one batch of green cookies. If you celebrate Hanukah, add blue food coloring to the dough. We have also used a peanut M&M instead of a chocolate kiss in the center of the cookie.
We prepare batches of these for bake sales, pot luck gatherings and to give as gifts throughout the year.

About the author:
Audrey Okaneko is mom to two girls, all of whom love to cook and entertain. She can be reached at audreyoka@cox.net or visited at http://www.scrapping-made-simple.com