PB&C Love Blossoms

There's a certain balance, complementing, and enhancing going on when sweet and salty get together. Like, who doesn't love the delicious union of chocolate and peanut butter? (Except maybe people allergic to peanuts... or chocolate...)

So if you need something salty for your sweetheart, or to sweeten up your salty friends... make these cute lil peanut butter and chocolate love blossoms. You can use the traditional chocolate kisses, but I thought the Dove chocolate hearts (thus "love") would be adorable for Valentine's Day or any day :-)

PB&C Love Blossoms
very slightly adapted from Bake at 350

1/2 C butter
3/4 C creamy peanut butter
1/3 C white sugar
1/4 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 C flour
44 chocolate hearts or kisses, unwrapped (you can unwrap while cookies bake)
more white sugar plus pink or red fine sanding sugar for rolling

Preheat the oven to 375.

Beat together the butter and peanut butter until smooth and combined. Beat in the sugars until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the soda and salt and mix until evenly distributed. Add the flour 1/2 C at a time, beating after each addition.

Mix about 1/4 C sugar and a few tablespoons of the colored sanding sugar into a small bowl. You can control just how intense the color is by how much of the colored sugar you add. I just wanted a hint, a blush of pink.

Scoop dough and roll into 1" diameter balls (I used my 1" scoop, pretty easy hehe). Roll in the sanding sugar and place on the lined cookie sheets about 1-2" apart. They won't spread much, so I was able to fit 20 on one sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes or until just golden.

As soon as they come out of the oven, carefully press a heart or kiss into each cookie. Allow to cool. Eat or share!

One afterthought: If you're like me and happen to eat a bunch of chocolates while you're prepping and suddenly find that you won't have enough for every cookie you make... before baking, just use your fork to press criss-crosses into them and bake for 6-7 minutes.  Also cute!