pb & chocolate chip cups

I have come to the harsh-but-true conclusion that I'm a fair weather baker.

I cannot take the heat. Literally. Pressure isn't great either, but the hot weather and humidity suck the life out of me. If I were a denizen of Alpharetta, Georgia, you can count your cookies that there would be no beurrista.

Now that school is in full swing, now that the mornings are cooler and the air crisper, I am finally hearing the siren song of the oven. The Kids are even asking for cookies after a summer full of ice cream and ices.

Today, s'mores are in the oven. I made chocolate chip cookies last week. What has been in the forefront of my mind, however, is pb&j. I love that combination. I wanted to make a pb&j bar cookie, but after running it by The Tasters, I realized that I'd have No Takers. I'd have to eat the whole pan myself...

 So I managed a little pb (no j) & chocolate.

It is a basic chocolate chip cookie dough

topped off with peanut butter cup.

Have you had one before? The Neighbor baked us some last year, and I was hooked. The Husband even eats them...

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookie Cup
adapted from Joy of Baking.com

2½ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup miniature chocolate chips
48 miniature peanut butter cups, frozen

Preheat oven to 350ºF and place rack in the center of the oven. Grease 48 miniature muffin tins.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. Fill each miniature muffin cup with about one tablespoon of batter.

Bake the cookies for about 8 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges, but still soft in the center. While the cookies are baking, unwrap the peanut butter cups. Remove the cookies from the oven, and gently press one miniature peanut butter cup into the center of each cookie. The peanut butter cup should be even with the top of the batter. Return the cookies to the oven and bake an additional 3-4 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely (about two hours) on a wire rack before removing the cookies from the pan. Resist temptation to remove before cooled— they'll fall apart! These can be stored several days at room temperature or in the refrigerator, or they can be frozen.

Makes about 48 cookies.

This post is linked to the following:  show and share, holiday haven, tatertots and jello, i'm lovin' it, frugal girls, show and tell, tasty tuesdays, tip me tuesday, home stories a to z, crazy sweet tuesday, tuesday talent show, wow me wednesday, sugar and dots, something swanky, momnivores dilemma, Sundae Scoop, made by you mondays,  friday flair,  c.r.a.f.t., show me what you got, saturday 7 party, it's party time