The Ultimate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookie & That Something about Baking

/ Jodi
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The Ultimate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookie

The Ultimate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookie

A few months ago, I recall my youngest son, watching me mix together a batch of cookie dough, asking, “Do you actually enjoy doing that?  Seems like a lot of work!”

I thought about it.

It is a bit tedious.

It makes a mess in the kitchen.

I could be binge-watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix or painting or exercising or reading or so many other things.

But…

There’s something about baking…

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There’s something about using Grandma’s old tin measuring cup and reminiscing about childhood summers.

There’s something about the way the house smells like home when you bake.

There’s something about the smiles you know will emerge when hubby sees stacks of cookies cooling on racks when he comes home or comes in from out of the cold.

There’s something about making goody packages to send home with your kids (even though they are grown and on their own and perfectly capable of making themselves).

There’s something about taking a special treat into the office for a long day of meetings and seeing your co-workers’ faces light up.

There’s something about taking a plate of cookies to the Thursday night gang at John’s Bar and watching your buddy eat one cookie before his dinner and two after.

There’s something about trading a cookie or piece of cake with Cliff the mailman when he delivers a package and handful of mail right to the kitchen door (with a treat always in hand for your furry kid).

There’s something about your kids’ friends saying “You make the BEST cookies Mom M!”

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So you see – baking is more than the chore of mixing butter and sugar and flour.  It’s about creating happiness.

When I read a recent blog post by one of my very favorite blog writers, Pam at Catching My Drift, I knew I HAD to try her cookie recipe.  Pam is not a food blogger, but a storyteller – a GREAT storyteller I might add.  And the story she wove about her persistent and passionate quest to recreate her ultimate cookie painted a picture of the most heavenly bite on earth.  Pam tells the story of  how she loves sitting in the Starbucks snack bar of her local Barnes & Noble noshing on the most amazing Reese’s peanut butter cookie while sipping dark Italian roast and paging through glossy magazines.  You must read about her 35-year quest to recreate this cookie and the surprising place she found the recipe.

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Well, dear Pam, we were certainly not disappointed in this Ultimate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookie!  It is indeed the ultimate.  It is a new favorite of hubby’s.  And it will now be a staple in my cookie recipe collection!  They are super crispy on the outside edges and tender and  soft on the inside.  The perfect combination of texture and flavor.

Here is the recipe as shared by Pam (which of course I doubled – because I knew I had to share)!

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup margarine (I used butter)
  • 1 cup peanut butter (I used Jiff Creamy)
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • Candy or chocolate of your choice to mix in (I used 4-6 Reese’s peanut butter cups, chopped, and 1/2 cup chopped Hershey’s Kisses.)
  • Sugar for dipping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat first six ingredients until fluffy.  Add next four ingredients.  Blend well.  Fold in chopped candy.  Shape into 1 1/2 – 2 inch balls.  Roll in sugar.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten with sugared bottom of glass.  Bake 12-15 minutes or until browned on the edges and beginning to crinkle.  Remove from oven, and cool completely on wire cooling rack.  

Enjoy immensely!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

61 thoughts on “The Ultimate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookie & That Something about Baking”

  9. I love this post! You have the perfect reasons to keep baking cookies! But you forgot to say to bring happiness to your blogger friends when you share the recipe! LOL! I will have to try this cookie recipe. It sounds delicious!

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  10. Cooking and baking is therapeutic for me – I love it too! And I am making these cookies TODAY Jodi because they look like the ultimate cookie and I’ve got all the ingredients! Thanks for sharing Pam’s recipe and blog – I’ll be sure to check it out 😋😘

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  13. You have me drooling Jodi! And yes, cooking is so much more than, well, cooking! It is truly an act of love and giving, not to mention an art in itself. Thank you for a wonderful Sunday smile, I look forward to getting to know Pam 🙂

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    • Thanks Jenna! I hope you will enjoy Pam’s wonderful writing as much as I do. She typically posts one amazing story a week – on Saturday mornings. Worth sitting down with a cup of coffee and savoring 🙂

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  17. You are so sweet to treat so many with your cookies and other goodies, Jodi! 💕💜 I used to enjoy baking but I have to watch my sugar intake so I rarely bake anymore. Yet, I always enjoy reading about the JOY you share with your gifts from the heART. xo 😍

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  24. This is a great post Jodi. I love how you describe how much happiness comes from your cooking and baking. I find baking to be extremely difficult because the recipes must be followed very closely and I don’t do well with directions. And once again, your food photography is beautiful.

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    • Thanks Sylvia – I actually am not an exact measurer, but maybe from experience I just know how much a teaspoon and tablespoon and quarter cup etc. are I usually just pour into my hand. 🙂

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