Cookies for Santa! Although I am Jewish, my Dad and I would always put out cookies for Santa each Christmas Eve, and I would always wake up on Christmas morning to find a thank you note from Santa and an empty plate! Hmm...
I wanted to share with you all my favorite cookies for Santa. I learned about this cookie in first grade from my favorite teacher of all time, Mrs. Baird.
Here is a basic peanut butter cookie dough recipe adapted from NYTimes Cooking, but with a special twist for baking
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 stick (4 oz) of unsalted butter, at room temp
1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon of milk - dairy, oat, or nut milk, your choice!
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Reese's mini peanut butter cups
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a mini muffin tray with mini muffin liners and set aside.
Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar.
Add the egg, milk, and vanilla extract; beat until well blended.
Gradually add the combined dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly. If the dough is very soft, refrigerate for about 1 hour.
Scoop the dough out with a 1-inch cookie scoop and place 1 cookie dough ball into each muffin liner.
Place the mini muffin cookie tray in the freezer for 15 minutes to ensure they are cold.
Bake for 10 minutes, until the cookies are lightly brown and puffed.
Remove the tray from the oven and lightly press a mini Reese's cup into the center of each cookie. Return the tray to the oven for 1 minute.
Remove from the oven, cool completely, and store in an airtight container. Don't forget to set some aside for Santa!
Merry Christmas to all of those who celebrate!