Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Recently my Mom sent me an Easter basket, as she has always done since I left for U of O 3 years ago. Inside, she had given me a bag of mini Reeses and since I love to bake, I decided to transform these into cookies! I looked up a recipe, and instead of following it exactly I decided that rather than placing an individual cup inside each ball of dough, I was going to chop them up into pieces and gently stir them into the entire batch of dough. The result? Delicious chocolaty-peanut-buttery cookies that my roommates loved! I highly recommend these for any of you whose favorite ice cream flavor happens to be peanut butter and chocolate (like me!). Enjoy!


Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I prefer vanilla bean paste for a richer, fuller vanilla taste)
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 20-30 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
2. Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well. 
3. Carefully chop the peanut butter cups into pieces, they don't have to be too small, cut in half or thirds is probably ideal. Add the peanut butter cups into the mixture, gently stirring just to incorporate the cups and being careful NOT to crush them too much. 
4. Shape into teaspoon-sized balls and place each into a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8-10 minutes. Cool slightly, carefully remove from pan, and place on cookie drying rack. 
6. Serve with a tall glass of milk!