Peanut Blossoms

These were Sam's choice this year.  If he hadn't chosen them, I would have had to claim them as my choice.  I think probably everyone knows about these- the peanut-y cookie with the Hershey's kiss on the top- but just in case you don't or just in case you don't have the recipe in your repertoire, you'll find it below.

Even though there isn't anything Christmas-y about these, I only think about them at Christmastime because that's the only time my mom made them. Everyone has their own method of eating these cookies.  What's yours?

Peanut Blossoms (the recipe my mom uses)
Makes about 3 dozen.

1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter (we like chunky)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup sugar for rolling
about 36 Hershey's kisses, unwrapped

Sift flour, baking soda and salt together in a bowl and set aside.  In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the shortening, peanut butter and both sugars together well.  Add the egg, milk and vanilla.  Place the 1/4 cup sugar in a bowl.  Roll a heaping tbsp. of cookie dough in your hands, forming balls.  Roll the balls in the sugar, coating them well and place them on greased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.  Bake them in a 350 degree oven for 7 minutes.  Remove from the oven and place one Hershey's kiss in the center of each cookie, pressing it down firmly (you don't want the kisses to fall out/off when the cool).  Return the cookies to the oven for 2-3 minutes or until they are just starting to turn light brown.  Cool completely before storing in a covered container.  They freeze nicely.  Feed the extra Hershey's kisses to your bush outside if you don't think you can keep yourself from eating them.