Christmas Cookies - Peanut Butter Bites

Today has been a cookie baking marathon, trying to get all of my Christmas cookies finished in time for Tuesday (Chris' last day in the office before Christmas). Happily, everything I've made today has turned out beautifully. I'll be sharing all the recipes and results with you in the days leading up to Christmas and tonight's cookie is Peanut Butter Bites.

I got the recipe for Peanut Butter Bites from Better Homes and Gardens and they were a great find as they were easy to make and are really delicious.

Ingredients:3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
21 miniature chocolate-covered peanut butter cups, halved

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine butter and peanut butter. Beat with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. My stand mixer didn't need the help of a wooden spoon; it incorporated all the flour on its own. If necessary, cover and chill about 30 minutes or until dough is easy to handle. I didn't need to chill the dough, it was greasy but not at all sticky or difficult to form.

Shape dough into 1-1/2-inch balls. Press a peanut butter cup half into each ball and shape dough around peanut butter cup to enclose. Place cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool.

This recipe yielded 38 cookies for me and they baked up perfectly in 10 minutes. I will definitely be filing this recipe away to make again!