Carrot Cake Cookies

Okay, so I had a sandwich cookie theme this year for the Christmas in July cookie exchange.  I found these carrot cake cookies and had to try.  I think they are my favorite cookie now.  Part of that might be that they seem 'healthy' even though I'm sure they really aren't!.  They turned out GREAT and I can't wait to make these over and over and over again!

Ingredients
1 c. brown sugar

1 c. sugar

1 c. butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda 1 t. baking powder 1/4 t. salt 1 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice 2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats 1 1/2 c. finely grated carrots, (about 3 large carrots)

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese
1 c. butter, cut into pieces
1 c. powdered sugar
1 t. pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper, and set aside. 
3. Combine sugars and butter; beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.  
4. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until well combined. 
5. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice; stir to combine. 
6. Gradually add flour to butter mixture; mix on a low speed until just blended.  
7. Mix in oats and carrots. 
8. Chill dough in refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour.  
9. Using a 2t. scoop, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies 
10. Repeat baking process with remaining dough.
11. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until browned and crisped, rotating pan halfway through baking.
12. Let sit a few minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack.  
13. Once cooled completely, spread cream-cheese filling onto a cookie. Sandwich together with a second cookie. 
14. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Oreo's

I had NO idea that you could make something like Oreo's at home.  I also had no idea that it would be easiest thing in the world to make.  This might be dangerous.  While, I don't think these taste quite the same, they are quite similar to Oreo's.  I like that I know what is in them and that I can make them myself.  They taste a lot more like Oreo's once you start dunking them in milk!  Dunk away, my friends!

Ingredients

For the chocolate wafers:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar [see recipe note]

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter

1 large egg

For the filling:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.  Line to jelly roll pans with parchment paper or silicone mats.
2. In a food processor, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. Add butter and egg and continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
3. Place 1t. size balls on sheets.  Spacing them about 2 inches apart.
4. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
5. To make the filling, Mix butter and shortening with mixer at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
6. Place filling in pastry bag, or Ziploc bag with corner snipped off.  Squeeze filling onto half of the cookies.  Top each cookie with another cookie of equal size.
7. Dunk cookies in a large glass of milk.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

These are well liked in our house and are SO easy to make.  I do have another chocolate cookie recipe that I like better, but it takes A LOT more work, so these are the go to, straight off of the Reese's Peanut Butter Chip package!

Ingredients

1 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
10 oz package peanut butter chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
3. Stir in the eggs and vanilla.
4. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture.
5. Finally, fold in the peanut butter chips.
6. Drop cookies by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.  I used my 2t. cookie scoop and it made a TON of cookies.
7. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven.
8. Let cool on pan for a few minutes to set up well, then transfer to wire racks.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

I tried out this new recipe for my husband's birthday. Personally, I think that I like plain snickerdoodles better, however, these had a nice taste and were something different. It's kind-of fun to switch it up every once in a while, right? I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour 
2 t. cream of tartar 
1 t. baking soda 
1/2 t. salt 
1 t. pumpkin pie spice 
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. unsalted butter, softened 
1 large egg 
3/4 c. pumpkin puree 
2 T. ground cinnamon

1/4 c. sugar
    

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda,  salt and pumpkin pie spice; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
4. Add the egg and beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds.
5. Add the pumpkin puree and beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds.
6. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl as needed.
7. Place the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon for rolling in a shallow bowl.
8. Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a 1 1/2 inch ball (I used my 1.5 T. cookie scoop), roll the ball in the sugar mixture, and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the balls about 2 inches apart
9. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and just beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking.
10. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets about 5 minutes; using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Girl Scout Cookies

 
Brandon told the boys they could have whatever they wanted for dessert tonight, since it was a "Holiday".  It was decided that we should bake some cookies, so I decided that we should try something new.  Another great blog post, and something different to try.  I know I've been mentioning allrecipes.com a lot lately, but once again I found myself there.  I searched for cookie and then put them in order of highest reviews.  I think this was the 3rd highest with over 700 reviews.  I also had all the ingredients and the boys thought they sounded great (and why wouldn't they with peanut butter in them...)  Any how, these turned out a little larger than I thought.  I used my 2 t. cookie scoop, and really think I could have used half of that to make them more like the girl scout cookies.  The taste, however, is FANTASTIC!  You probably need to make them smaller just because you know you'll eat more than one anyway....Sorry Girl Scouts, but I'll no longer be buying your peanut butter oatmeal cookies, these are FAR better!  Happy New Year!

Ingredients

3/4 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla extract
1 c. quick cooking oats
3 T. butter, softened
1 c. confectioners' sugar
1/2 c. smooth peanut butter
2 1/2 T. heavy whipping cream (whatever milk you have in the fridge will work fine)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter or margarine, 1/2 cup peanut butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add egg and beat well.
2. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add these dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir. Add oatmeal and stir.
3. Drop by teaspoons onto greased baking sheet.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 9-11 minutes, or until cookies are a light brown.
5. To Make Filling: Cream 3 tablespoons butter or margarine with the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, and the cream.
6. Spread filling onto half of the cooled cookies, then top with the other half to form sandwiches.  (I put the frosting in a zip lock bag and snipped the end off to make frosting the cookies super easy!)

Turkey Treats

Okay, so how cute are these?!?!?!? I found them through pinterest. They originally were suppose to stand up, but I decided that was too much work and they are totally cute just like this. I think everyone will be thrilled to see these on turkey-day! I tried 2 different kinds of cookie frosting. Wilton's cookie frosting was much to thin and not suitable at all for this, but the Betty Crocker cookie frosting seemed to work great. I'm sure it's easy to make a nice cookie frosting that is thick and will harden up, but as I had surgery earlier today, I opted for EASY! To make these, you need fudge striped cookies, candy corn, peanut butter cups, nutter butter cookies, mini brown m&m's, red and yellow jelly belly's. The yellow jelly belly's need to have the tip cut off so they stick out nice for a nose. Other than that, once the frosting dried it was all stuck together like glue. Totally can't wait to show these off at Thanksgiving! Thanks for the extra hand, Allison!

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brandon's preference is to have coconut bittersweet chocolate cookies. For that, I put in a 4 oz bar of Ghirdelli bittersweet chocolate cut into chunks and 1c. coconut instead of the 1-2 cups chips.   Also, any kind of chip works well. I really prefer white chocolate chips. You can also add nuts if you want, they are tasty with some macadamia nuts.  This batch was made with a 4 oz bar of Ghirdelli semi-sweet chocolate 

This recipe is also really easy and seem to turn out better if you just mix them up by hand instead of using the mixer. They freeze really well and when we want one, we pull one out of the freezer and microwave it on 50% power for like 30 seconds and they are as good as coming out of the oven. YUM!

Ingredients

2 1/8 c. all-purpose flour (~ 10 1/2 ounces)
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
12 T. butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly
1 c. brown sugar  (7 ounces)
1/2 c. sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 t. vanilla extract
1 - 2 c. chocolate chips or chunks (semi or bittersweet)


Directions

1. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions.  Heat oven to 325 degrees. 
2. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
   By hand, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended.
3. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla.
4. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined.
5. Stir in chips.
   Using 3 T. cookie scoop, scoop dough into ball. Holding dough ball using fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halves ninety degrees and, with jagged surfaces exposed, join halves together at their base, again forming a single cookie, being careful not to smooth dough’s uneven surface.
6. Place formed dough onto one of two parchment paper-lined (or use silicone baking mat) jellyroll pans, about nine dough balls per sheet. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month—shaped or not.)
    Bake, rotating cookie sheets’ positions halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes(start checking at 13 minutes). (Frozen dough requires an extra 1 to 2 minutes baking time.)
7. Cool cookies on cookie sheets.
8. Serve or store in airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.

S'mores Cookies

I found this recipe online and thought we'd try it out for birthday treats for Aiden to take to preschool. They are so good, that I don't want to send them with him, but it's better to share than to eat that many cookies, I suppose. This recipe is going into my recipe box. Need I say more?

Ingredients

• 2 1/8 c. all-purpose flour (~ 10 1/2 ounces) 
• 1/2 t. salt 
• 1/2 t. baking soda 
• 12 T. butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly
• 2 T. butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly 
• 1 c. brown sugar  (7 ounces) 
• 1/2 c. sugar (3 1/2 ounces) 
• 1 egg 
• 1 egg yolk 
• 2 t. vanilla extract 
• 1 - 2 c. chocolate chips or chunks (semi or bittersweet)
• 1/2 bag of mini marshmallows
• 1 box graham crackers
• 3 Hersey bars broken into the pieces

Directions

1. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions.  Heat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
3. By hand, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended.
4. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla.
5. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined.
6. Stir in chocolate chips and marshmallows. 
7. Place about 1 1/2 T. of dough on graham crackers squares. Press down slightly with fingertips.
8. Bake for 5 minutes then remove from oven to press Hershey’s bar pieces on to the top. You can place as many pieces or as little as you want depending how much chocolate flavor you want.
9. Bake for 7-10 more minutes or until dough is beginning to turn golden brown at the edges.  Do NOT over bake!
10. Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack.

Cake Box Cookies

I haven't had these for a long while, probably since college, but they are good and quite easy to make. I made them using a lemon cake mix, but I have enjoyed them with a cherry chip and chocolate cake mix, as well.  Experiment however you want!

Ingredients

1 box lemon cake mix (or whatever you want)

8 oz. carton of Cool Whip (I don't think lite works very well, but I could be wrong)

1 egg

powdered sugar

Directions

1. Mix ingredients together in a large bowl
2. Using small cookie scoop (2 t. scoop), form a few balls of dough and drop them into a bowl of powdered sugar. If scoop is getting to sticky, dip in a glass of water.
3. Place dough covered with powdered sugar on greased or lined baking sheet.
4. Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.
5. Allow to cool for several minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack.

Thick and Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies

I was suppose to be going to a Christmas in July cookie exchange today, but it was cancelled due to illness. Brandon was so disappointed as he was looking forward to ginger cookies. When he took the kids outside, I decided to surprise him. He LOVES these cookies and to my surprise, the kids love them too! Merry Christmas, everyone!

Ingredients

1/3 c. sugar (about 2 1/2 ounces), plus 1/2 cup for dipping
2 1/4 c. flour (11 1/4 ounces)
1 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. ground allspice
1/4 t. ground black pepper
1/4 t. salt
12 T. butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool
1/3 c. packed dark brown sugar (about 2 1/2 ounces)
1 large egg yolk
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 c. molasses (about 6 ounces)

 
Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Place 1/2 cup sugar for dipping in 8- or 9-inch cake pan.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in medium bowl until thoroughly combined; set aside.
3. In standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter with brown and granulated sugars at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Reduce speed to medium-low and add yolk and vanilla; increase speed to medium and beat until incorporated, about 20 seconds.
5. Reduce speed to medium-low and add molasses; beat until fully incorporated, about 20 seconds, scraping bottom and sides of bowl once with rubber spatula.
6. Reduce speed to lowest setting; add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl down once. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no pockets of flour remain at bottom. Dough will be soft.
7. Using tablespoon measure, scoop heaping tablespoon of dough and roll between palms into 1 1/2-inch ball; drop ball into cake pan with sugar and repeat to form about 4 balls.  (I use my 1.5 T. cookie scoop.) Toss balls in sugar to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining dough.
8. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are browned, still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), about 11 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Do not over bake.
9. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes, then use wide metal spatula to transfer cookies to wire rack; cool cookies to room temperature and serve. (Can be stored at room temperature in airtight container or zipper-lock plastic bag up to 5 days.)

Snickerdoodles

This weekend, I had to renew my membership to cooksillustrated.com. I also decided to join their Editor's Choice group as I have eyed a few recipes there before, but never ponied up to join. I decided that if I was going to join Editor's Choice, I had better make something from them. I went for snickerdoodles as I haven't had them in years. Brandon told me he didn't like them until he tried them. I guess then they were good!  Hope you all enjoy this free Cook's Illustrated Editor's Choice recipe!

Ingredients

2 1/4 c. (11 1/4 ounces) flour
2 t. cream of tartar
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
12 T. unsalted butter , softened but still cool (I've given up on using unsalted butter)
1/4 c. vegetable shortening
1 1/2 c. (10 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar , plus 3 T. for rolling dough
2 large eggs
1 T. cinnamon for rolling dough

 

Directions

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.  (I use silicone baking mats)
2. Whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.Cream the butter, shortening, and the 1½ cups sugar at medium speed until combined , about 1 to 1½ minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
3. Add the eggs. Beat until combined, about 30 seconds.
4. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds.
5. Mix the 3 tablespoons sugar for rolling and the cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
6. Working with a heaping tablespoon of dough each time, roll the dough into 1½-inch balls.  (I used my 1.5 T. cookie scoop) Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and place them on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
7. Bake until the edges of the cookies are beginning to set and the centers are soft and puffy, 9 to 11 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets 2 to 3 minutes before transferring them with a wide metal spatula to a wire rack.
8. Store in a container with a slice of fresh bread in order to keep cookies soft and chewy.

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies with Pecans and Dried Cherries

It's been awhile since I've made Brandon's favorite cookies. They are great! This time around, Brandon asked me to make a lot of them, and make them smaller. This is what I learned. This recipe is AWESOME, but it doesn't double well and making them smaller is a bit of a challenge that I haven't master. That being said, they still tasted good, they just weren't AS good. I HIGHLY suggest making them according to the recipe, and don't double. I hope everyone enjoys these cookies!

Ingredients

1 1/4 c. flour

3/4 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 1/4 c. old-fashioned rolled oats

1 c. toasted pecans (4 ounces), chopped coarse

1 c. dried tart cherries (5 ounces), chopped coarse

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks

12 Tbs. butter

1 1/2 c. packed dark brown sugar

1 egg

1 t. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions; heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large (18 by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in small bowl.
3. In medium bowl, stir together oats, pecans, cherries, and chocolate.
4. In standing mixer, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until no sugar lumps remain, about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula; add egg and vanilla and beat on medium-low speed until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl; with mixer running at low speed, add flour mixture; mix until just combined, about 30 seconds. With mixer still running on low, gradually add oat/nut mixture; mix until just incorporated. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.
5. Using 3Tbs. cookie scoop, scoop dough into 16 rounded cookies.  Stagger 8 balls on each baking sheet.  Using hands, gently press each dough ball to 1 inch thickness. Bake both baking sheets 12 minutes, rotate them front to back and top to bottom, then continue to bake until cookies are medium brown and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will seem underdone and will appear raw, wet, and shiny in cracks), 8 to 10 minutes longer. Do not over bake.
6. Cool cookies on baking sheets on wire rack 5 minutes; using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Yeah, you read the title right. These cookies have peanut butter, chocolate chips, and oatmeal in them and don't they look delicious? I really wish you could try these straight through the computer, they are great. They cooked up nice: thick, chewy, and rich! Everyone should try making these!

Ingredients

1 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. butter, at room temperature

1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

1/2 c. sugar

1/3 c. brown sugar

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1 egg

1/2 c. rolled oats

1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking sheets and set aside.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. On medium speed, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the egg and beat to combine.
5. On low speed, gradually add the flour until just combined. Stir in the oats, and then the chocolate chips.
6. Use a large cookie scoop, 3 tablespoons, and drop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 -11 minutes.  Cookies will not look finished, but will be nice and golden brown around the edges near the pan.
7. Cool completely on the baking sheet.  If the cookies were cooked too long, let them sit on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes to firm up, then move them to a cooling rack.

Makes 15-16 large cookies

Gluten Free Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies

A friend of mine is allergic to gluten. This is not an allergy that I have run across that often, but I've heard of it. I thought I should try to make a treat that everyone could enjoy. I found this recipe and thought it looked really interesting. It also didn't require some weird flour or other ingredients that I wouldn't want extra of in my pantry, so why not try them?

They turned out really good, I thought. I guess I don't know how they compare to other gluten free products, but they are good. They have a very fine crumb and are quite delicate. The chocolate coating kind-of helps keep them together and give them a little structure. I don't know that you would know that they were gluten free, without being told, but they don't have the same texture as a "normal" cookie.

I should also note that Candiquick is a candy coating, like almond bark.  I buy it at Target and also use it for many things like Oreo balls or dipping pretzels.  If it is too thick, mix in a little vegetable oil to thin.

Ingredients

1 lb vanilla Candiquik

1lb chocolate Candiquik

2 1/2 c. peanut butter (I used smooth, but I think it could be good with crunchy to add some peanut chunks to the cookies)

1 t. vanilla

2 t. baking soda

2 eggs

6 oz. flaked coconut, toasted (optional)

Directions

1. Melt vanilla Candiquik according to package instructions
2. Mix in peanut butter, vanilla, baking soda, eggs and coconut if using.
3. Form into small balls 1/2 to 1 inch balls. I used my 2 t. cookie scoop
4. Place balls in refrigerator or freezer until cold.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
6. Let them cool on the cookie sheets.
7. When cool, melt chocolate Candiquik and spread with a knife on top of cookies.
8. Once they are dry, enjoy!

Makes 5-6 dozen cookies

Peanut Blossoms

What could possibly be better than peanut butter cookies with chocolate, not much! I've never made this kind of cookies before, but have always enjoyed eating them at Christmas. Brandon prefers the chocolate stars instead of the kisses, but I couldn't find the stars at the store, so we had to settle.

Ingredients

1/2 c. margarine

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 c. peanut butter

1 t. vanilla

1 3/4 c. flour

1 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

2 Tbs. of milk

Chocolate Star Candies or Hershey Kisses

Directions

1. Cream together butter, brown sugar, egg, peanut butter, vanilla and milk.
2. Add flour, salt and baking soda, mix completely.
3. Roll into small balls, then roll in sugar.
4. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 375° for 5-7 minutes.  When cookies start to crack, press in one Star or Kiss.  Return to oven for approximately one minute. 

Makes approximately 6 dozen.