We attended a BBQ this past weekend and the host’s only request was to bring a side. When I looked at the forecast and discovered it was going to be 100 degrees, cookies instantly came to mind. They’re portable and you don’t have to worry about them being refrigerated or maintained at a certain temp for fear of food poisoning. Because, you know, food poisoning is so much fun, said no one ever. Plus, it was an opportunity to try something new. A chocolate cookie with chopped mini Reese’s PB cups. There’s also the upside of baking, sampling, and leaving the cookies to the masses so they’re not lingering around the house calling out my name like they sometimes do.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsps. vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 8oz bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup minis, chopped

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually, add the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture and combine together. Stir in the chopped peanut butter cups.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes only, too much bake time will dry them out and make them crispy. The goal is for a soft, chewy cookie. Transfer to a cooling rack.

NOTE: I chopped the PB cups to make sure there were some in each cookie, but next time, I won’t do this. I’ll leave them whole and maybe include another bag or half of bag.