a kiss to build a dream on...

Ok, so I purposefully saved this recipe to be posted around Valentine's Day because it has kisses in the name, and that sounds so romantic, right? Well truthfully, I don't put a lot of stock in Valentine's Day, however I do put stock in anything chocolate and peanut butter, which is why these cookies are ideal all. year. long. And if someone made me these cookies, I think I would kiss them.

These are pretty similar to your typical peanut butter/Hershey kiss cookies, but the peanut flavor is really amped up in this version. First of all, chunky peanut butter is used in the dough, and then each ball of dough is rolled up in chopped honey roasted peanuts.

Let me tell you, it was a real struggle not to eat all the honey roasted peanuts and Hershey kisses. Thankfully, these cookies are easy to make (think 1 bowl) and bake in 11 minutes. So it's not long before you're kissing (and devouring) a chocolatey, melty, chewy peanut buttery cookie.

Enjoy these kissable treats!

Honey-Roasted Peanut Kisses

Makes 3 ½ dozen cookies

Recipe Notes-

- These aren’t unlike your typical Hershey Kiss topped peanut butter cookies, but rolling them in the honey-roasted peanuts and using crunchy peanut butter elevates that peanut butter flavor. It also adds a wonderful crunch to the creaminess of the Kiss.

- This easy recipe that requires no fancy equipment- just a large bowl and spoon. Make sure to refrigerate the dough for at least an hour though because the dough needs time to firm up before it hits the hot oven, otherwise the cookies will spread too much and be thin.

- Not really sure the origin of this cookie, since I cut it out of some magazine forever ago. I did tweak it though by swapping out melted white chocolate for the Hershey Kisses.  

Ingredients:

½ Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

½ Cup brown sugar, packed

½ Cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Cup chunky peanut butter

1 1/3 Cups all-purpose flour

¾ tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking soda

1 ½ Cups honey-roasted peanuts, chopped

50+ Hershey Kisses, unwrapped (1 bag is enough)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine melted butter and the sugars. Whisk in the egg, vanilla extract and peanut butter. Stir in the flour, salt and baking soda just until blended. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, or up to 2 days.

2. Preheat oven to 325° F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Place chopped peanuts in a small bowl. Roll dough into 1-inch balls (use about 2 tsp., or try to keep them tiny because they expand) and then roll dough balls into the peanuts, pressing into the cookies. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheet, and place a Hershey Kiss on top (pressing and flattening out the cookie a bit).

3. Bake for 10-11 minutes (cookies will look very soft, but will harden as they cool). Place on a baking rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 4 days.