Mini Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

So there's this chain of grocery stores called Trader Joe's. People who shop there are generally really, really fantatical about how much they love the place. There's actually a Trader Joe's about 2 minutes from my house, but ironically I hardly ever shop there. It's growing on me though, and one thing I've found is they make the best peanut butter cups I've ever had. They also make them in a mini version and I thought it'd be fun to make a cookie using the mini peanut butter cups instead of chocolate chips. I ended up giving a tin of these as part of a birthday gift for my brother-in-law, who loves peanut butter almost as much as my hubby does. :)

MINI PEANUT BUTTER CUP COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups mini peanut butter cups (recommended - Trader Joe's brand)



DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar with a handheld mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until well incorporated. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Carefully stir in mini peanut butter cups. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets.

4. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until just golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet 1 minute, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.