Drop Cookies: Peanut Candy Clusters

Who doesn't love the delicious combination of peanuts and chocolate? People allergic to peanuts, I suppose. But for everyone else, this is one of the most delectable cookies on the planet. You'll need ingredients found in your pantry, plus peanuts and M&Ms. You can, of course, use other candy coated chocolate, but I like M&Ms.


A note on peanut butter: if you don't have smooth peanut butter, you can easily use crunchy. Just decrease the peanuts by a little, or omit them entirely. It's up to you.


Make an extra large batch of these if there are kids around. They will eat them up in moments.


Ingredients


1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
½ cup smooth peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1½ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
¾ salted peanuts, whole
¾ M&Ms or other candy coated chocolate pieces


Preparation


Heat oven to 375°F. Cream together sugar, butter, and peanut butter. Add vanilla and egg and blend until smooth. Mix in flour and baking soda until dry ingredients are fully incorporated. Gently fold in peanuts and M&Ms. Dough should be just slightly crumbly, but still a soft cookie dough.


Drop dough by tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheets. Do not flatten, but do smooth out any bit of dough that stick out so they don't burn. Bake for 8 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet, then cool completely on wire racks.


This recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies.