Peanut Butter Bites Recipe

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
21 miniature chocolate-covered peanut butter cups, halved
Unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine butter and peanut butter. Beat with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. If necessary, cover and chill about 30 minutes or until dough is easy to handle.

2. Shape dough into 1-1/2-inch balls. Press a peanut butter cup half into each ball and shape dough around peanut butter cup to enclose. Place cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool. If desired, sprinkle cookies with cocoa powder. Makes about 42 cookies.
From the Test Kitchen

Place cookies between waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
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REVIEWS:

This cookie is absolutely the BEST. My family went nuts over them and I'm bringing them to a cookie exchange this week. They're time consuming to make, having to put the candy in the center of the dough but well worth it.

I dont think these were anything special. They also got very hard a day or two after baking.

I make these over and over using a different "filling". Tiny Snickers bars, Butterfinger, Milky Way - any very small candy bar I have on hand. I sprinkle with Wilton's White Sparkling Sugar.

Took these to a cookie exchange and everyone loved them. My husband and son ate almost a dozen before I could get the rest wrapped up. Really easy recipe. Will definitely make this one again!

I just made these (it's Christmas Eve) and they are absolutely amazing! This has to be my new favorite cookie recipe. Two suggestions though: 1. Use sweetened cocoa powder instead of unsweetened, the unsweetened is a little bitter... of course I put on more than a "light sprinkle". 2. Dust the cookies right out of the oven, before taking them off the sheet if you can. The cocoa will melt into a rich chocolate glaze instead of just a powder on top

Delicious!!! I made these at our Christmas cookie bake off this year. Everyone loved them! Will definitely make them again!

I made these for a cookie exchange and they were a hit. I doubled the recipe so I could use a whole peanut butter cup, the bigger the better is always good for a cookie.

I made these for my Thanksgiving office party, and my husband had half of them gone before I could wrap them up! They are absolutely delicious :) I added a little sugar to the coco before I dusted them, just to sweeten them up a bit. Mine did not turn out as round as the picture but still tasted as good as they looked!

These are very good cookies but a little more subtle than I was anticipating. Which may be a good thing. I also think this recipe would be fantastic without using any candy...the cookie was light and crisp. Excellent cookie dough!

These were an absolute hit! I'm not a fan of peanut-butter-flavored foods, but these are awesome! Also, very easyto make.

I used hershey choco/almond kissed instead of half pb cups. After I baked them the looked pretty bland so I rolled those in confection sugar. The others I rolled in cocoa before baking, cooled, rolled again, this time in confections sugar. Turned out great.

Yummy!