Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

As I make cookies this holiday season and post them to this blog, it's clear I like making some very traditional cookies; cookies I never make any other time of the year. These recipes are all borne from traditions started when I first starting baking with my Grandmother to making cookies that my children have always particularly liked.

That's the case with these cookies. My daughter Lauren doesn't like nuts in cookies but she likes peanut butter so these cookies made with peanut butter and topped with a Hershey's chocolate kiss have always been a favorite of hers. Her friend Lauren (yes, that's right!) was here the other night and she helped me make these; she wants to do more baking and she also wanted to take some home for here Dads' birthday, so here's to Lauren K and Lauren S for inspiration AND assistance!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar – light or dark (packed)
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cup plain flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• Extra white sugar to roll cookies in (optional)
• Approximately 45 regular size Hershey's Kisses

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, use a mixer and blend the softened butter, peanut butter, both sugars, egg, vanilla, and salt until nice and creamy.
2. Sift together the flour and baking soda and add to softened mixture a cup at a time and mix well.
3. Roll dough into balls about 1" in diameter.
4. If desired place a small amount of regular white table sugar in a bowl. Dip each cookie ball in the sugar and shake off excess. You don't want a lot of sugar on the cookies, but the quick sugar dip adds to the flavor and gives the cookie~ an interesting texture at the end. (Note: the girls didn't want the sugar, so our pictures shows results without this step).
5. Place cookie balls on baking sheet. Leave space – about two inches all around. They spread a bit.
6. Bake 8 to 10 minutes at 375 degrees F in a preheated oven until the cookies are done. They should be a pretty golden brown color.
7. As soon as you take the cookies out of the oven, press a Hershey Kiss in the center of each. Press firmly until the Hershey Kiss is nestled in the middle of the hot cookie. Do this before removing the cookies from the baking pan.
8. Once you've put Hershey Kisses in the middle of all the cookies on the pan, remove cookies and let cool. Use some caution. The kisses will get very soft from the heat, don't try to transport or pack into containers until they have had adequate time to completely cook and reharden. Eating them in this stage is OK though!

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