Million Dollar Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe and Watkins Cinnamon

Double Delight Peanut Butter CookiesCarolyn Gurtz of Maryland recently won Pillsbury’s annual million dollar prize for baking with her innovative peanut butter cookie recipe, which adds a whole new twist to Pillsbury’s Create ‘n Bake® refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough.  This wonderful recipe that Carolyn calls her Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies, is described by Carolyn as “crunchy and sweet on the outside, creamy on the inside.”   I’ve given the recipe an added boost in quality and taste by recommending that the cinnamon be Watkins pure ground cinnamon. 

So just how does a peanut butter cookie become creamy on the inside while staying crunchy on the outside?  It comes from the wonderful idea that Carolyn had in wrapping Pillsbury’s cookie dough around a ball of creamy peanut butter mixed with powdered sugar.  Now doesn’t that sound yummy?  The whole cookie is rolled in a mixture of granulated sugar, Watkins cinnamon and chopped dry roasted peanuts before placement on the baking sheet. 

Now this is a recipe that will knock your socks off and send your taste buds drooling for more.  Given the fact that Carolyn won a million dollars for this great recipe, you can’t go wrong giving it a try.  I highly recommend that you use Watkins cinnamon when making the sugar, cinnamon and peanuts coating for the cookies.  Watkins pure cinnamon contains no foreign ingredients or fillers, unlike many other brands of cinnamon found on your grocer’s shelves.

Ingredients

DIRECTIONS

  1. Heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, mix chopped peanuts, granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside. 
  2. In another small bowl, stir peanut butter and powdered sugar until completely blended. Shape mixture into 24 (1-inch) balls. 
  3. Cut roll of cookie dough into 12 slices. Cut each slice in half crosswise to make 24 pieces; flatten slightly. Shape 1 cookie dough piece around 1 peanut butter ball, covering completely. Repeat with remaining dough and balls. 
  4. Roll each covered ball in peanut mixture; gently pat mixture completely onto balls. On ungreased large cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Spray bottom of drinking glass with CRISCO® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray; press into remaining peanut mixture. Flatten each ball to 1/2-inch thickness with bottom of glass. Sprinkle any remaining peanut mixture evenly on tops of cookies; gently press into dough. 
  5. Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Store tightly covered.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): No change.