Mini Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

I bought a package of mini peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's a few months back because I thought they would be really tasty in cookies instead of chocolate chips.  I was correct and I know I am not the first person to think so! This is a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe but I added the peanut butter cups instead of chocolate chips.  A totally different way to get the flavor of a peanut butter cookies in addition to the chocolate.  This recipe has you make large cookies, but they would last longer if you made them smaller. Or you can just eat twice as much!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups + 2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 tbsp butter, melted
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
12 oz package mini peanut butter cups (unwrapped, and chopped if not already bite-sized)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 325°. Line two baking sheets with parchment or a silicon mat. Place butter and sugars in a mixer bowl, mix on medium high until well-combined, 2-3 minutes. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix on low just until combined. Stir in peanut butter cups until distributed. Chill dough 15 minutes.
Scoop 1/4-cup dough balls onto a lined baking sheet (if making large). Bake 11-15 minutes, until the edges brown and the center is still soft. Let cool on the baking sheet. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Peanut Butter Squares

This was a favorite on mine as a child and it still is today.  I make them for my girls (and who am I kidding, myself too!) and they love them. You can use any kind of peanut butter, but the natural kind without oil is the healthiest. Mix the ingredients together until the powdered milk mostly disappears.  A great snack with some sneaky ingredients that make it healthy too.

Serves: 24                                                                          

Prep time:  5 minutes

Chill time: 3 hours - overnight

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups peanut butter (natural; no sugar added)

1 cup powdered non-fat milk

¾ cup toasted wheat germ

¾ cup Honey or to taste 

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all the ingredients together until well blended.  The mixture will still be chunky but the white of the powdered milk should be mostly blended in. Press mixture into pan or Pyrex dish.  Refrigerate until chilled, a minimum of three hours but preferably overnight.  Cut into squares when mixture is firm.