Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

Cooking for friends is always the most fun. Especially during the summertime when friends get together for outdoor barbeques by the pool, making a special dish can really add a lot. So when one of my best friends (and special contributor to this blog) Morgan invited us over to grill and hang out by the pool, I knew I wanted to do something fun for everyone. 


Morgan already had an amazing menu planned. She made a baked asparagus and zucchini pasta salad, these incredible s'mores bars loaded with chocolate and marshmallow, and the most adorable jello shots that looked like wedges of watermelon. All of this in addition to loads of burgers and hot dogs and, last but not least, beer and mixed drinks for all. 

Since I knew Morgan was making s'mores bars, I thought I'd make some chocolate chip cookies, a safe bet that everyone would like. However, I was aware of a recent trend in the online blogging community to put "surprise" oreos inside their cookies. Inspired by this, I decided to put Reese's peanut butter cups in mine! Also, as an added special touch, I changed up regular chocolate chips for M&M pieces, adding a bit of color to my cookies. 

Making these are really quite simple. You can use your favourite cookie-dough recipe - just don't put in the chocolate chips at the end. On the parchment paper, flatten out a scoop of cookie dough and place the peanut butter cup in the center. Lift up the edges around the peanut butter cup until it is completely covered on all sides. After, place however many M&M pieces on top. Baking time is the same as before, roughly 10-14 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Now, I thought I was being so very mysterious when I told everyone that these cookies had a surprise to them. To find out, people had to "just bite into them and see!" Too bad my plan completely backfired. Of course, I didn't know everyone there very well -- so I didn't know that two people were allergic to peanuts. They both were about 10 seconds away from biting into a cookie before another guy yelled for them to stop! Could have been very bad but thankfully, a crisis was averted. I learned my lesson, though -- next time you want to surprise your friends, make sure of everyone's allergies beforehand! 


Happy eating! 
-Talia