A Cookie From the Peanut Gallery - Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

This is my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe with a twist. Ever since I experienced Spryte's Rolo Cookies, I have been obsessed with wrapping cookie dough around delicious morsels of yumminess. This was part of the reason that Barry White Cookies came into being. I have done this one time before, but I didn't blog about it back then. I am going to up the ante on standard peanut butter cookies Oh yeah Baby... I am talking about havin' em filled with Reese's Peanut Butter cups.
Yeppers, you read that right. Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups wrapped in delicious Peanut Butter cookie dough.

This gives the cookies just a hint of chocolate, but not too much... and the sweetened peanut butter center is just plain awesome! This recipe makes 29 - 30 cookies. So Never Fear!! There will be a few Peanut Butter cups left over for the cook to munch on. Oh Yeeaaahh!

My peanut butter of choice, for peanut butter cookies, is always Adams Crunchy. Though it is a little hard to find this far south, but it's the one that I grew up on, in the big 5lb tub. We kids ate A LOT of peanut butter toast with honey before heading out in the cold morning to take care of the animals before school. So it's pretty much my staple peanut butter.

As an added bonus, the ingredient list is simple... Peanuts, and 1% or less, salt..

No Palm oil, Hydrogenated Coconut oil, Sugar, or HFCS.... Peanuts, the way it should be. All the good fats and none of the guilt. :)

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

1/2 cup Unsalted Butter; Room Temperature
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 Large egg
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
3/4 tsp Baking Soda (this slows down spreading, and makes them a little crisper)
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
1 3/4 cups AP Flour
1 12 oz Package of Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, whisk Baking soda, Salt and Flour; set aside.

Mix in Egg and vanilla into the creamed mixture.

Add Flour mixer, stirring to combine.

Chill dough, covered, 30 minutes.

Unwrap your mini Reese's Peanut Butter cups.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (175 C)
Scoop out about 1 TB of the cookie dough

and wrap around the cup. (try to remember which side of the peanut butter cup is the top and which is the bottom)

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, with what would have been the top of the peanut butter cup, facing down, so they spread properly.

Place hatch marks on the tops with a fork (cause this is just what you are suppose to do to peanut butter cookies)

Bake until edges are very lightly browning (about 10 to 13 minutes).

Let rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy with a nice cup of coffee.... You cannot see it, but my French Press is in the background brewing up a batch of that deliciously dark ambrosia... ;)

Mangia!!
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Pause-Café – Le Cafetière à Piston; the French Press

Maybe I am bias but as far as I am concerned, aside from espresso, this is the ultimate in coffee brewing, although, technically it is more of a steeping method than brewing. Regardless of the technicalities, the ingenious French Press (AKA Press Pot, Coffee Press, Piston Pot or Coffee Plunger) produces the most decadently flavorful cup of the mysterious brew of any other method not involving a $6,000 machine imported from Naples or Turino.

This machine is brilliant in its simplicity and inspired in function. A simple screen acts as a filter, pressing the spent ground to the bottom of the glass pot, leaving behind all the delicious extractives suspended in a frothy dark liquid above; ready to be relished with fervor. This device’s history goes back as far as 1850 however the first patent was issued in Italy in 1931 to one Mr. Attilio Calimani. While the Patent is Italian in origin it is the Danish company Bodum (located in Switzerland now), however, seems to be the largest purveyor of French Presses in the United States

The operation of the French press is quite easy. Just remember, Auto Drip grind is too fine for this method, it must be slightly coarser to prevent passage through the screen.

Simply fill the Carafe with Hot water from the tap to condition the glass. (this also keeps it from absorbing too much heat from the water when it is poured in)

Place a kettle on the stove and heat the water to 200 degrees.

Measure out 1 slightly rounded Tablespoon of ground coffee per cup (Mine is a “6” cup).

As the water reaches 195, pour the water from the carafe and add the grounds.

When the water kettle reaches 200, remove from heat and pour into the carafe.

Using a spoon, stir the grounds briefly to ensure they are equally moistened with no clumping.

Place the lid on top (do NOT push the plunger yet) and wrap with a towel to preserve the heat, letting it steep for 4 minutes.

Press the plunger down --

and pour yourself a deliciously rich velvet froth laced cup of ambrosia.

Yes, again I add just a little half and half… I always have to smell my French Press coffee for about 3 minutes before I actually take a sip… ;)

It is a heavenly experience to be sure….

Not only does the French Press brew/Steep and AWESOME cup of Joe. It is also one of the most environmentally friendly ways to prepare your morning coffee. You will no longer have to purchase paper coffee filters which pollute the landfill. The residual grounds from your French Press are an awesome addition to your garden soil or your septic tank (after all, sometimes even bacteria and microbes need a pick me up).

Cin Cin!!
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