Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

I have a thing for chocolate and peanut butter.  I honestly think it's one of the best flavor combinations ever.  I saw these cute mini peanut butter cups at Trader Joe's and couldn't pass them up.  I used my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe and added the mini peanut butter cups to make peanut butter cup cookies.

When it comes to cookies, I'm really picky about the texture.  I don't like really crispy cookies, but I do like them crispy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside.  The best way I've found for achieving the perfect cookie texture is using a baking stone or a pizza stone.   I put the baking stone in the oven when it's preheating.  This also preheats the baking stones since they take a while to heat up and ensures a nice even temperature when baking.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cup mini peanut butter cups

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  In medium bowl, cream butter and sugars.  Add peanut butter, egg, and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.

3.  In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and baking powder.  Add the flour mixture to creamed mixture and mix well.

4.  Cover and chill dough at least one hour.

5.  Shape into one inch balls.  Place two inches apart on baking stone.  Bake 15-18 minutes at 375 degrees.  Cookies should be slightly browned an set.  Cool on wire racks.

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