I’m Edward from If You Can Read, You Can Cook. That is my mother’s motto, which she instilled in me from a young age. She believes that at it’s most basic, cooking is as simple as following directions. Today, I’m switching places with Cara today. To see her homemade Halloween party treat, plus other simple recipes and kitchen tips & tricks, see my blog at http://www.ifyoucanread.com.

I love cookies. I’ll use any excuse to make them. Christmas, Easter, President’s Day…  Any time is a good time to bake cookies. My all time favorite are chocolate chip walnut cookies. But another favorite are those cookies with the Hershey Kisses on top. I mean, what’s not to love? A peanut butter cookie with a giant chocolate chip on top? It’s kind of like the cookie version of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

So cookies are are timeless treats. But how do you make them Halloween-y? You could buy the slice-and-bake cookies from the store, the ones with the pumpkin or ghost in the middle. But where is the fun of baking somebody else’s cookie? I want to make my own. The idea came to me while eating some Hershey kisses.

Now that fall has arrived, Starbucks has brought back it’s Pumpkin Spice Latte. It’s just about the only reason I ever go in there. Apparently, it’s been around for 10 years now. And the pumpkin spice latte is huge. Everybody has been jumping on the pumpkin spice bandwagon. Even gas stations sell pumpkin spice flavored coffee in October. Recently, candies have been getting into the game as well. M&M’s have a pumpkin spice variety. And Hershey’s has come out with a pumpkin spice Hershey’s kiss. Unlike regular Hershey’s kisses,the pumpkin spice Hershey’s kisses are white chocolate. The center is white, but the outside is an orange color reminiscent of pumpkins and Halloween.

So, to make a Halloween-themed cookie, I used these in place of regular Hershey kisses on a standard Hershey kiss cookie (officially known as a peanut butter blossom).

Besides from the primary change of which candy goes on top of the cookie, one of the biggest changes I made to the original recipe was the size of the cookie itself. I like big cookies. Plus, it has the advantage of requiring fewer Hershey’s kisses, meaning that you probably won’t run out if you are snacking on them while making the cookies (yeah, that has totally happened to me before). Also, I believe in simplicity in cooking. I’ll usually substitute a simpler ingredient likely to be on hand for a more complex one I would have to buy, like  country sausage for Anduille sausage or milk for half-and-half. I also don’t believe in adding ingredients to my baking one at a time, like standard recipes call for. I’ve tossed everything in the bowl together and I’ve mixed dry ingredients separate from the wet ingredients. There was no difference. So now I through everything together and don’t worry about it.

Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kiss Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 ½ c. flour
• ¾ c. peanut butter
• ½ c. butter
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 TBSP milk
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 18 Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses

Directions

1. Place Hershey kisses in freezer. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In large bowl, combine flour, peanut butter, sugar brown sugar, egg, milk, baking soda, and salt.
3. Roll dough into 2 inch balls. Place on cookie sheet two inches apart.
4. Place in oven. Bake for 10 minutes. While cookies are baking, remove Hershey kisses from freezer and remove wrappers.
5. When cookies have begun to brown, remove them from oven. (Note, the cookies should not look “done” yet. If they appear to be fully cooked, they will be overcooked when they finish cooling. Learn how to bake the perfect cookie every time.) Push a Hershey’s kiss into the center of cookie and transfer to cooling rack.
6. Let sit over night for cookie to set before touching the Hershey’s kiss.

These cookies come off the cookie sheet pretty cleanly, but if you are having problems with them sticking, parchment paper can help with that.

Below the collage are links to all of the posts that participated in our Blog Swap Meet: Halloween Party TreatsBelow the collage are links to all of the posts that participated in our Blog Swap Meet: Halloween Party Treats!

Stop by and visit them all!

Food Storage Moms posted on Dizzy Busy and Hungry

Dizzy Busy and Hungry posted on Food Storage Moms

Craft Dictator posted on If You Can Read You Can Cook

If You Can Read You Can Cook posted on Craft Dictator

Confections + Coffee posted on Honesty’s Protegee

Honesty’s Protegee posted on Confections + Coffee

Soda Pop Avenue posted on Cynfully Wonderful

Cynfully Wonderful posted on Soda Pop Avenue

Cooking the Recipe posted on Creative Southern Home

Creative Southern Home posted on Cooking the Recipe

Mammy2Grammy posted on Crafty Meggy

Crafty Meggy posted on Mammy2Grammy