Peanut Butter Cookies....what a yummy treat!

One of my family's all time favorite cookies, aside from chocolate chip, is peanut butter. About a year ago, I found the best ever peanut butter cookie in a very unlikely place.

Our church had a ladies retreat at the beach. I went, worried about what I would eat. I knew the organizers had made arrangements with the cooking staff to cook some gluten-free options, but it was not something they had done much of. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous.

The weekend at the beach was wonderful and the food was absolutely delicious! The staff did an amazing job making foods that we would all enjoy. There were several of us there that weekend that needed the gluten-free foods. We were not left disappointed at all!

Coffee, tea and cookies were almost always available in the sitting areas at the bed and breakfast where we stayed. There were two plates of cookies, one labeled gluten free, the other not. These peanut butter cookies were on the gluten free plate. I had to try one!

Oh my goodness, they were by far, the best cookie I'd eaten in a long time! Unfortunately; or fortunately, depending on your point of view, everyone else thought they were good too. Even the gluten-eaters loved them!

One afternoon at lunch time, I asked the cooks if they'd be willing to share their secret. I was so afraid they were made from a mix, or worse yet, a packaged cookie they had purchased somewhere. You know how I cook, a mix I might be able to swing once in a while, but a packaged cookie would be a very rare treat. These cookies were far too good to only be able to have them once in a blue moon!

Thankfully, the recipe was readily given and best of all, it was super easy! Amazingly enough, there was NO gluten-free flour in them. These cookies contain NO flour, whatsoever! Yes, you read that right. How amazing is that? I think if they'd told me before I tried the cookies, I would have been seriously skeptical. Tasting was by far, believing for this cook!

A friend and I were talking yesterday about these very cookies. When we were younger, we always made a peanut butter cookie that had a chocolate kiss on top of them. I think they were called "Peanut Blossoms" or something similar. She asked me if I'd tried the peanut butter cup variation of the cookies from the bed and breakfast.

WHAT? There is another variety of that same wonderful cookie? NO WAY! I will share it with you, even though I have yet to try it myself. This friend is one of the best cooks I know, so I'm quite certain they are wonderful!

Basically, what you do is make the cookie dough the way you would for the regular peanut butter cookies. Instead of putting them out on a cookie sheet, you take a mini muffin pan and put the balls of dough in that. Bake them and then place an unwrapped mini peanut butter cup in the center and push it down in the hot cookie before removing them from the pan.

I know my mouth was watering when we were talking about it. It's pretty safe to say that if you are reading this and love chocolate and peanut butter together that yours is too! Oh my!

Now, as always, please read labels! I am aware that not all peanut butter cups are gluten-free. Hershey's is really good about labeling allergens and they strive to make sure that their products are correctly labeled. Never just assume that every kind is gluten-free. I have read that many of the different holiday shaped ones are not gluten-free. So please read labels.

Have fun with this recipe. Try just the chocolate kisses, pieces or something else. Talk about a real easy treat to serve at any harvest or holiday party! Super easy, super yummy and a sure hit! What could be better? If you try something new with this recipe, please share it! We are always looking for a yummy variation to an old favorite!