The kids insist on making cookies for Santa every year. It’s a tradition I started with Kaity when she was little. I saw Martha Stewart on the Today Show the other day, making Peanut Butter Surprise cookies. I modified the recipe to use healthier ingredients. The kids enjoyed squishing the peanut butter cups into the cookies, and so did I. Plus, baking is totally awesome with a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 4 tablespoons Smart Balance Spread
• I cup sucanat
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 32 mini peanut butter cups

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream peanut butter and Smart Balance in stand mixer until smooth. Add sucanat and mix until incorporated. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add slowly to wet ingredients. Mix until well combined. You may need to add an extra 1/4 cup of flour if the dough is too gooey at this stage. Pinch the dough and roll into small balls. Place the balls of dough on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Parchment paper is one of the coolest baking tools there is. Cover your baking pans with it, and then just throw it away and put the pan away when you’re done. No washing required! Bake for 7 minutes, then remove cookies from oven and squish unwrapped peanut butter cups into center of cookie. Continue baking for an additional six minutes. Cool cookies on cookie sheet for 10 minutes, and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. If there’s any left after the kids get done with them, leave a few for Santa.