Easy Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

This is one of the easiest, if not the easiest, cookie recipes ever created!  It is also amazing!  I literally have to hide these from my family or wait until the day I plan to "allow" them to eat the cookies. Each year I have to hide them in a new location!  They know I hide them, so they work pretty hard at finding them.  I can't even say how long I've been making these, but I can say it's been the same every year.



To tell the truth, I should make a batch for my family and a batch to share with friends and relatives then I wouldn't have to work so hard at keeping them hidden, but I am also trying to keep the cookie eating within reason since we are all exposed to so many sweets during the holiday.   

The last few years I have had my daughters  prepare them for me, they are that simple.  No need to worry about something getting measured incorrectly.  They also enjoy it because there's not much to it, so the end result (delicious cookies) is attained that much sooner! 

Gather the following ingredients:

1 egg
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. sugar
Chocolate kisses or chocolate stars

See, it really is basic but if you are a peanut butter lover why would you want/need anything else?  This is a gluten free recipe and can be made with all organic ingredients, which is great, allowing them to be enjoyed by more.  The more the merrier, right?

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the first three ingredients.  I spray my measuring cup with oil before measuring the peanut butter, so it slips right out.  Instead of a whisk you can use a wooden spoon, if you prefer, since the batter does get thick.

Spoon or scoop the batter on to a baking stone or cookie sheet.  I prefer the baking stone, because they cook more evenly.  For a smoother looking cookie, roll the batter into balls. You can also flatten the dough balls to make them look like more traditional peanut butter cookies.  This would be better if you plan on sprinkling chocolate chips on the cookies after they bake, like the place in the mall does.  I have yet to try that, although that is my cookie of choice when I'm at the mall.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.

When baking on a baking stone, leave the cookies on for a minute or two then add the chocolate kiss.  If you try to remove them too soon they will break apart. Nobody likes a broken Peanut Butter Kiss cookie...well, maybe... because it tastes the same, but to make them more pleasing to the eye wait that minute or two.  

When baking on a cookie sheet, let the cookies cool on a cooling rack for 1 minute then add a chocolate kiss to each one.  It will take a while for the chocolate to cool and solidify, you can refrigerate them to speed up the process (if your in a hurry to package them).  FYI, eating a cookie or two while the chocolate is melted is THE BEST!!

This recipe yields two dozen cookies.  If your family ends up loving these as much as mine does you will want to double the recipe to have some left to share.  Happy Baking!