Before I baked these, Brent saw the bag of Reeses Pieces and said, “what is this?” in an accusatory tone. He is on a diet right now, preparing for Medical Officer basic training in July and keeping unhealthy things away has been key. Actually, the key has been to hide the goodies so that I don’t have to be completely on his diet as well. I need fat and sugar!! So that’s where these cookies come in to play. They are sooo soft. They may be undercooked but I wouldn’t have them any other way. And the Reeses Pieces seal the deal.

Elle’s New England Kitchen made a huge batch (75!) of medium sized (3 inch) cookies from the original recipe. But I can only hide so many cookies around here, so I took a chance and halved the recipe (with a little extra flour). Making large cookies this version came out to 2 dozen cookies.

BTW, I think I have a serious addiction to baked goods – I continue to turn on my oven despite the ongoing heat vs A/C battle. (Totally worth it.)

COOKIES

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Peanut Butter Mixture (below)

2 cups Reeses Pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Go ahead and mix up the peanut butter mixture (directions below) first, then set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, set aside. In a standing mixer or large bowl, cream the butter, shortening and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, beating well after each one, then add the vanilla and the peanut butter mixture. Add the flour mixture by the cupful and beat at low speed until fully mixed. At this point, mix in the candy.
3. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. I used a 1/4 cup scoop to make these cookies, so they’re a bit on the huge side. Place about 2 inches apart on your baking sheet. Bake for 11 minutes (they will still be pale, with a touch of golden brown on the bottom edges). Remove from the oven and let them sit on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then remove to a cooling rack using a spatula. Let cool completely and then store in an airtight container.

PEANUT BUTTER MIXTURE

Ingredients:

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 stick butter, room temperature

1/4 cup honey

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, blend together all ingredients. Set aside until needed.

Source: Down-sized from Elle’s New England Kitchen