These cookies were a go-to recipe for me for many years. I think I sort of burned myself out on them, to be honest, and I went many years without making them. The recipe crossed my mind recently and I realized I’d never put it on the blog. And it definitely deserves a spot.
Like Hershey Syrup Cake, this recipe came to me by way of my mom’s workplace. Someone made these to share at her office and then shared the recipe. It’s another one of those wonderful handwritten recipes that was photocopied and passed around.
I have my own work related connection to this recipe. When I graduated high school, I decided to stay home for a year and take classes at the university’s regional campus. I stumbled into a part-time job in the business office at a locally owned lumber and building supply store. I was one of only three females employed there and was the youngest by far. “The Boys” as I would eventually endearingly call my male colleagues were all older and they didn’t really know what to make of me. I noticed conversations stopped or grew hushed when I walked by and conversation with me never really extended beyond a “Good morning” when I arrived and a “See you tomorrow” when I left.
It probably shouldn’t have bothered me but it did. I wanted them to like me or at least include me in their banter. My course of action? I decided to make them some Peanut Butter Cup Cookies. I walked in one Monday morning with a Tupperware box of cookies. I mumbled “I made y’all some cookies,” dropped them on the break room table and disappeared upstairs to the office.
In about 20 minutes, one of them came upstairs carrying the box. My heart sank at first. Were they returning my cookies to me? But then I saw the box was empty. “We liked the cookies,” he said. “Thank you.” Shortly after that, another one came upstairs clutching his stomach and pretended he’d been food poisoned by “those little cookies.” I knew I was in the circle.
For the rest of my time there, I was the little sister of the group. They teased me unmercifully and I gave back as good as I got. Today, when someone asked me how I came to be so quick with a witty comeback or sarcastic comment, I credit The Boys. I learned a lot at that job which I kept for several summers. It influenced me to study business as a major and I was able to utilize much of what I learned there in my studies. I also learned that a Peanut Butter Cup Cookie can go a long way toward melting hearts.
Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1 and 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
30 to 36 miniature peanut butter cups
Mix butter, both sugars, vanilla, peanut butter and the egg in a medium bowl until well mixed. In separate bowl, combine flour and soda and whisk with a fork so the soda distributes evenly. Add the flour mixture into the wet mixture and mix well until dough forms. Refrigerate dough for at least an hour.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350. Roll dough into one inch balls and place each ball into a mini muffin pan cup that’s been generously sprayed. I use my scoop to make sure the dough balls are equal.
Bake for 13 to 15 minutes until dough is baked through. While the dough is baking, unwrap your peanut butter cups. Make sure you have enough unwrapped for your first pan of cookies because you’ll need to work fast once you take them out of the oven.
The top of your cookies should look “set” and not be doughy. Carefully push a peanut butter cup down into each little peanut butter cookie muffin. They should easily sink right into the warm dough.
Let the cookies hang in the pan for a couple of minutes then remove them over to a cooling rack. Mine popped right out using just my hands but you can use a butter knife to loosen them if they should stick (hopefully they won’t!)
Let the cookies cool at room temperature. If it’s warm or humid, you may need to refrigerate them for 30 minutes or so and let the chocolate set.
This recipe makes 30 cookies for me. I only have one mini muffin pan so I had to repeat the process until my dough was used up.
I hope these Peanut Butter Cup Cookies find a place in your heart!