I'm still trying to find ways to use the last of the Halloween candy. It might be because I ran to Target the week after Halloween and bought a bunch on clearance, but whatever. Details.
The point is, I had a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and a few Peanut Butter Snickers sitting around. I could have parked myself on the couch and ate them like popcorn, but I figured I should probably try to use them in a cookie. Somehow. It's all about maximizing the chocolate, after all.
Chocolate cookie. With peanut butter candy. THAT was what I wanted.
These are a basic chocolate cookie that is a bit on the cake-ish side. That means they are PERFECT for baking in a mini muffin pan and adding any sort of candy you can think of. I have tried Peanut Butter Snickers, Peanut Butter Cups, and caramels so far. All I can say is OMG. YES. PLEASE.
They're really good.
They are really light, not too rich, and absolutely dreamy.
Dreamy Chocolate Cookies
(Makes 24 cookies)
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2/3 cups baking cocoa
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Assorted candy, unwrapped
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Liberally coat a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray.
2. Mix the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and low speed.
3. In a separate medium mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg/vanilla mixture and mix at low speed until well combined.
5. Drop the cookie dough by heaping teaspoon into the mini muffin pan spaces.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
7. Allow the cookies to cool for 1-2 minutes. Then, stick the Peanut Butter Cup or whatever into the center of the cookie.
It doesn't have to be perfect. No one will care.
8. Allow the cookies to cool thoroughly before removing them from the pan (you can speed the process by placing them in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes). The easiest way to get the cookies out of the pan is to slide a knife along the edge of a cookie. They pop right out.
The caramel ones are really good warm.
The Peanut Butter Snickers ones are really good warm or cold.
And the Peanut Butter Cup ones? YES, PLEASE.
Who am I kidding? I'm all YES, PLEASE about all of them no matter what.