Bite Size Peanut Butter Cookie Buddies

Bite Size Peanut Butter Cookie Buddies

What needs to be said besides the fact that I'm on spring break and didn't travel anywhere? This is the sort of thing that happens under these circumstances. I've enjoyed way too many of these and will be taking most of what I have to my friend's house today. She and her family are quite thin, so they can handle it. 
These little gems are just what you'd imagine: yummy soft peanut butter cookie below, yummy chocolate candy on top. Truly, a winning bite size combo.
I didn't know what to name these because I already have so many variations on this peanut blossom cookie thing. Since the cookie part and the candy part are so distinct in themselves, I decided that they were good buddies. So, "Bite Size Peanut Butter Cookie Buddies" it is.

Bite Size Peanut Butter Cookie Buddies
    --Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup Crisco vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cup smooth/creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups Better Batter Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour or King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• granulated sugar
• 2-3 bags of mini chocolate candies (like Bite Size Snickers, Bite Size Rolos, and Bite Size Reese's Peanut Butter Cups)

Instructions:
Prepare a metal brownie pan (I used a 7 cm x 11 cm pan) by lining it with parchment or wax paper. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter, and the sugars until fluffy. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix on low until combined. Do not overmix.
Transfer the dough to the paper-lined brownie pan and smooth it out until you have an even layer. Place plastic wrap on top and then gently pack the dough in and leave the plastic wrap on top of the dough. Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to chill.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit about a half hour before you plan to form the little cookies. Then line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place about 1/3 cup granulated sugar in a bowl that you will use to coat dough pieces.
If you're using the Bite Size Snickers and Rolos, you might want to cut them in half while the dough chills. I leave the Reese's cups whole. Your choice, though.
Once dough is thoroughly chilled, remove from the refrigerator. Lift the dough out by using the edges of the paper. Cut the dough into about 1 to 1.25 cubic centimeter pieces, so that you end up with about a half teaspoon of dough. At this point, you can either roll each cube into a ball, roll in sugar, and place on the prepared baking sheet, OR you can just toss the little dough cubes in the sugar. Shape didn't matter to me today, so I used the cubes--much faster.  Leave about 1 1/2 inches between dough balls/cubes.  Bake cookies for about 5 minutes at 375 degrees, or until they are puffed and slightly cracked. 
Remove from oven and immediately top each cookie with a piece or half a piece of candy, cut face up if you've cut them. You need to move quickly because you have a lot of cookies and they start to cool pretty quickly. Allow cookies to cool on the pan for about five minutes.
Move cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling. Wait until the chocolate has solidified again before storing or serving.
Makes approximately 120-140 mini cookies

The candies seemed to big,
so the next batch I cut them
in half. Delicious either way.

The cut candies just seem more reasonable.