Peanut Butter Cup Cookies - Super Easy, Super Yummy!

 Hello October 1st!!  Isn't it exciting to see the sun a bit lower in the sky, the hint of color beginning to show in the trees, the coolness of the early mornings and late evenings letting us know that full blown glorious fall is just around the corner?  Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!!  How about you?  Are you excited?

We have mums and pumpkins and Indian corn at the ready to begin our fall/Halloween decorating.  We made a trip to the Farmer's Market today and everything is good to go.   Now, I just hope it doesn't rain tomorrow.  If it does, we will just work on it another day.  Sometime's the inner child in me gets excited and doesn't want to wait.  Another lesson in patience comes in the form of fall decorating.  Patience is NOT my middle name.

Fall weather also brings out the "nester" in me.  I want to cook and bake and make ready for the coming cold weather.  Sunday, after fixing brunch for all the moving helpers, I made these cookies that I had seen on the Pioneer Woman's show on Food Network.

One of my guilty pleasures is watching the Food Network shows on Saturday morning, dreaming of all the recipes I want to make.  Are you a Food Network/Cooking Channel watcher?  Actually, this is about the only television I watch.  That, and the Voice.  Another guilty pleasure.

Saturday morning, Ree Drummond made these cookies and I was like - oh wow, easiest cookie ever and they have to be fantastic.  I mean, it's peanut butter cookie dough with a peanut butter cup in the middle.  What could possibly be any better than that?

Here is what you need:

1 refrigerated roll  Peanut Butter Cookie Dough (see, easiest cookie ever!)
1 package peanut butter cups (extras  - you will eat some)
1 mini muffin pan

Yeah, that's it.  Anyone can do this!

This is what I used.  There are other brands available - take your pick!  Remove the wrapper and cut the dough with a sharp knife in about 1 to 1.5 inch sections.  I got 8 sections from this dough.

Take each round and cut it into quarters.

Lay each section in a cup of the mini muffin pan that has been greased for easy cookie removal.  Somehow I missed taking a picture of this.  Oops.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  When oven has reached temperature, put the pan in the oven for 6 - 8 minutes, only until the cookies are lightly browned.  Watch them closely!  Mine were done at 6 minutes.  Remove pan from oven.

While the cookies are baking, remove the paper wrappers from as many peanut butter cups as you will need.  Work fast and don't stop to eat, you will not be done by the time the cookies are baked.  You will put 1 cup in the middle of each cookie.  I unwrapped 24 since that is how many cookies I had in the pan.

Simply push an unwrapped peanut butter cup in the center of each cookie and watch them get all ooey gooey in the hot cookies fresh from the oven and do your dead level best not to eat every one of them as fast as you can!

Let the cookies cool.  Remove from the pan.  I am here to tell you these didn't last very long at all!  They are a perfect 2 bite cookie.  At least for me.  I don't think some took 2 bites.  They just popped the whole delectable morsel in their mouth.  (You know who you are!)

Luckily, I have enough stuff to make more because I knew there would be no leftovers.  (This is not my first rodeo.)  Dan is not a big peanut butter cup fan (I know, I know), but he sure did like these!  Melty chocolate, peanut butter, cookie dough.  Mm, mmm, mmmm.  It was the melty chocolate that won him over.

These cookies would be easy for your children to help you make IF you can keep them from eating all the peanut butter cups before the cookies bake.  That is the real challenge.  Ergo, buy extra peanut butter cups.

Now, think about the options here.  You could make chocolate chip cookies with a chocolate kiss in the middle or a Rolo (note to self), sugar cookies with your favorite mini candy bar or some chocolate covered candies (aka M&M's) in the middle, the options are endless!   How about peanut butter cookies with a miniature Snicker's bar in the middle.  Oh my.

Be creative.  Give these a try.  You will be dreaming up options, believe me.  I mean what could be better than a cookie with your favorite candy in the middle and you don't have to make the cookie dough!  I don't know about you, but there are many more of these in my future.  Welcome, October!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

You got peanut butter in my chocolate!
No, you got chocolate in my peanut butter!
Two great tastes that taste great together!    Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Am I showing my age here?  Remember these ads?  donna