Peanut Butter Blossoms

You've probably seen these a million times recently, since lots of people make these for Christmas.  Hell, you've probably even made them yourself.  I, on the other hand, have made these exactly twice in my entire life.  The first time I made these, Joe still live in his dingy bachelor pad downtown.  I remember that I had to go out and specially purchase everything I needed - butter, peanut butter, cookie sheets, etc.  The man had the bare essentials and that was it.  He did have one cookie sheet, but it was questionable looking.  He had been talking about these and I remarked "are you kidding, those are so easy to make!" and then he asked me if I could make them for him.  I did, and then never made them again.

What a jerk.

See, it turns out that chocolate + peanut butter is Joe's favorite combination.  It also turns out that Hershey Kisses are my kryptonite.  You'd think that having to unwrap them in order to eat them would slow me down, but I think I see it as more of a challenge than anything else.  The tricky part with these cookies is that you have to unwrap the chocolates first, since you need to be able to press them into the cookies right away.  See the problem?

We were having some friends over and I hadn't made them in awhile (about 8 years, if you were wondering), so I decided it was about time to resurrect these babies.  Also... I really wanted some Hershey Kisses.

My self control paid off, since I had about a dozen chocolates left over that I could eat without feeling guilty (or giving myself a tummy ache) and everybody loved the cookies.  Also, Joe might have made a funny little shriek/squeal noise when he saw them cooling on the counter.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

48 Hershey Kisses, unwrapped
1/2 c. shortening
3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/3 c. granulated sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Lightly grease cookie sheets and set aside.  Place the additional sugar on a small plate or in a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat shortening and peanut butter until well blended.  Add sugars and beat until fluffy.  Add egg, milk and vanilla; stir until incorporated.  Combine baking soda and flour and gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar.  Place on baking sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned (I baked mine for 8 minutes).  Remove from oven and immediately press a chocolate into the center of each cookie.  The cookies will crack around the edges.  Let cool for a couple of minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.