Peanut Butter Temptations
1 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 bags (10 oz.) miniature Reese Cups
Cream butter, peanut butter and both kinds of sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Blend into creamed mixture to make a dough. Preheat oven to 375. Shape dough into 1/2 inch balls and place in ungreased 1 1/2 inch muffin tins. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately after removing cookies from oven, press a miniature peanut butter cup into the center of each cookie until only the top shows. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from tins.

My notes: This is a double recipe. It helps to get the larger mini muffin tin so you can bake 2 dozen at a time.

No chill Cutout Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsps baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add baking powder and flour one cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Dough will be stiff. Do not chill dough. Divide dough in half. Roll each half about 1/8 inch thick. Dip cutters into flour before each use. Bake cookies on ungreased cookie sheet on middle rack of oven for 8-12 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned.

My notes: I ice them with powder sugar frosting. Mix some milk in with some confectioners sugar until it reaches the right consistency. This year I used the zip-loc bag technique (poor man's pastry bag!). Just put the icing in the bag, zip it up, cut a small hole in one corner and decorate the cookies. I sprinkled them with colored sugar before the icing dried.

Snickerdoodles
1 cup butter or shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsps cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsps sugar
2 tsps cinnamon
Preheat oven to 400F. Mix together butter and sugar until smooth, then add eggs, cream of tartar, and baking soda. Stir in flour until well mixed. Roll into balls about 1" in diameter and roll in cinnamon and sugar to coat. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake 8-10 minutes. Cookies are done when they are just barely browning.

My notes: For some reason these cookies always remind me of Christmas! I use the Pampered Chef small scoop to make the cookies more uniform. It also makes it easier to use parchment paper. Then cookies don't stick to the cookie sheet.