Well, just as quickly as it snuck up on me, another holiday season is in the books. I know it’s cliché to say time goes more quickly as you get older, but I promise you it’s true. I always feel like the holidays come and go so fast that there’s never really time to enjoy them – but the good part about the whole time flying thing is that it’ll be here again before I know it.
Christmas was nice this year; a little lower-key on the material gifts and a little heavier on the company and good cheer. We do the same thing for Christmas dinner every year – dinner with family friends with plenty of good food, good wine and good company. Highlights this year included some pre-dinner sipping on a really nice single malt scotch, rampant puns about ginger, and finding out that I am actually the daughter of Martha Stewart. I mean, look at that table. And Christmas cookie place tags? Come on! My mom is awesome.
As always, I’m a little bummed that it’s over. But we still have cookies. This is our week, people. We have six days until the New Year’s resolutions kick in and the gym gets all crowded and everyone suddenly remembers what kale is. Six precious days to gorge on leftovers, inhale the treats people have given you, and make some new treats. I know what I’ll be doing for the next few days. Somebody send a forklift to my apartment if you don’t hear from me next week – my couch and I will likely need to be removed, through the window, together.
Peanut butter blossoms are my all-time favorite cookie. And that is a bold, bold statement, people, because I’m generally a pretty equal-opportunity cookie lover. When I saw these over on I Am Baker, I knew immediately that I was going to make them. I mean, peanut butter blossoms AND red velvet? It doesn’t get much better than that. These are just Christmas-sy enough to hold on to that lingering wisp of holiday cheer, but they work any old time. These are so good I had to give the bulk of them away very, very quickly to ensure I didn’t conduct a scientific experiment to see if a human being can live on only these for days on end. They’re everything you love about the classic peanut butter blossom, but with a little hit of chocolate in the cookie itself and of course, the vibrant red color with a little sparkle from the sanding sugar. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no wrong time of year for festive treats like this.
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt
- 1 bag Hershey's Kisses
- 1 stick (4 oz) butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon red gel food coloring
- ¼ cup red sanding sugar
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
- Combine butter, peanut butter and sugar in a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until well-incorporated, about two minutes. Add egg, milk, vanilla and food coloring and beat to incorporate (about one more minute).
- Turn off the mixer and add the flour mixture. Beat on low just until incorporated.
- Refrigerate dough for about 20-30 minutes.
- Form dough into 1 inch balls and place 2-3 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake for 9-10 minutes.
- While cookies are baking, unwrap Hershey's kisses. As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, press a Hershey kiss in the middle of each one. Cool completely.
Source: I Am Baker
i love the color! they look so vibrant and yummy!