Peanut Butter Cup Sugar Cookies

Do you remember those gigantic cookies that were sold at stores like Mrs. Field’s in the mall?  I always loved the huge sugar cookies with the M&Ms in them.  I haven’t had one of those cookies in years and after buying some Trader Joe’s mini peanut butter cups, I decided it was time to bake these Peanut Butter Cup Sugar Cookies.  These cookies were not only ginormous, they were fabulous as well.  My hubby and I ate about 1/3 of them before he brought them to poker night at my brother-in-laws.  These cookies were just as I remember them being… soft, chewy, and amazing.  You could use chocolate chips or M&Ms if you’d like, but these TJ mini peanut butter cups were heavenly and took these cookies to a whole new level (can you tell I loved them?)!  Enjoy!

*Disclaimer:  These cookies, when consumed at the poker table, are proven to intimidate opponents and aid in chip winnings.  No, just kidding… they actually might have the opposite effect but they sure do taste great 🙂

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated white sugar
• 2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup mini peanut butter cups (I bought mine from Trader Joe’s)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place one oven rack in the top third of the oven, and one oven rack in the bottom third of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 2 – 3 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and egg yolk, beating until well combined. Beat in the vanilla extract.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
5. Form dough into balls, using 1/4 cup for each cookie. Place six balls of dough on each baking sheet. Gently flatten each ball of dough into a 2 1/2 inch round. Completely cover the tops of the cookies with the peanut butter cups gently pressing into the dough.
6. Bake the cookies for about 12-15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking time. The cookies are done when they are light golden brown in color and just set. They will still seem a little soft but they will firm up as they cool. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

*Makes about 12 large cookies.