Tuesday Recipe: Kiss Cookies

Sugarmag has a touch of the holiday blues, but she mentioned she might make kiss cookies with her kids. So I’m posting my version of my mom’s recipe here (which I’m pretty sure is not far removed from the official Hershey recipe), in hopes that her spirit will lift while she’s in the kitchen. Maybe I can’t give you hugs, Sugarmag, but at least I can send you kisses.

Kiss Cookies

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. peanut butter (I used Kroger’s organic chunky)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
2 T. cream or whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Dark Chocolate Hersheys Kisses, 1 for each cookie

Preheat over to 350 F.

Cream together the softened butter and peanut butter. Cream well with both sugars. Beat in the egg, cream or milk, and vanilla. Then sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. (I am lazy and usually just dump half the flour into the bowl, then stir the rising agents into the rest of the flour in the measuring cup.) Blend the dry ingredients well with the rest of the mess.

Roll batter into walnut-sized balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for seven minutes, then remove the cookies from the oven, place a kiss in the center of each cookie, pressing it oh so slightly down, and return the cookies to the oven for two more minutes. Don’t overbake! (This is a standard admonishment from my mom to me, and so I will gladly pass it on, because she’s right, by golly.)

My contribution to these cookies is that I swapped butter back in for Crisco, substituted chunky peanut butter for Skippy’s creamy (Mom warns against Jif), and went for the dark chocolate kisses, because mmmmm! My cookies were a bit flatter than Mom’s – I guess adding more flour wouldn’t hurt? – but they were darn good.

Mind you, I’m serious about the dark chocolate! Anyone who goes for milk chocolate is not allowed to cite this recipe as their source. So really, you need to go dark.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen. Plan for half to be devoured while the kisses are still slightly molten. (And no, that last sentence is not intended as my entry in the Bad Sex Writing contest.)