Peanut Butter King Cake Cookie
Submitted by dharper
Peanut butter king cake cookies shaped in a ring with a hidden chocolate kiss surprise inside one ball. Frosted with purple, green, and gold icing for Mardi Gras.
YIELD
3 cakesPREP
20 minCOOK
10 minREADY
45 minLaissez les bons temps rouler! These peanut butter cookies get the full Mardi Gras treatment, shaped into rings that mimic a traditional king cake with a hidden chocolate kiss tucked inside one ball as the “prize." It’s part cookie, part party game, and totally festive.
Eight balls of peanut butter dough arranged in a circle, baked just until set, then frosted with white icing and piped with the classic purple, green, and gold. The peanut butter flavor is rich and full from the brown sugar base, and pulling apart the warm, connected cookies is half the fun.
Don’t overbake these. Pull them when they look barely set and still a touch soft in the center. They firm up as they cool on the sheet, and overbaking turns peanut butter cookies dry and crumbly fast.
Pro Tips
- Mold the dough carefully around the chocolate kiss so it’s completely sealed. If the chocolate peeks through, the surprise is ruined.
- Arrange the balls almost touching on the sheet. They’ll spread into each other and form a connected ring, just like a real king cake.
- Let the cookies cool completely before icing. Warm cookies melt the frosting and the colors bleed together.
- Pipe the colored icings in alternating stripes of purple, green, and gold for the traditional Mardi Gras look.
Variations
- Use a Reese’s miniature cup instead of a chocolate kiss for an even bigger peanut butter-chocolate surprise.
- Swap creamy peanut butter for crunchy to add texture throughout the dough.
- Add a sprinkle of colored sugar crystals over the icing for sparkle and crunch.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃) (190C). Line three baking sheets with foil. Grease with shortening.
For cookies, combine shortening, brown sugar, peanut butter, milk, and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add egg. Beat just until blended.
Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended.
Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Working with ⅓ of dough at a time, break off 8 equal pieces of dough. Roll into balls. Hide a chocolate kiss in one of the 8 balls, molding dough with fingers around chocolate kiss.
(This is the prize.)
Arrange balls on baking sheet almost touching in a 6-inch (15 cm) circle. Flatten balls slightly with fingers. Repeat with remaining balls to make two more circles.
Bake one baking sheet at a time at 375℉ (190℃) (190C) for 9 to 11 minutes, or until set. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Cool 5 to 8 minutes on baking sheet before removing cookie on foil to countertop to cool completely.
For icing, combine icing sugar, shortening, milk and corn syrup. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until smooth. If too thick, add additional milk, a few drops at a time. If too thin, add additional icing sugar.
Divide icing into half. Place ½ into a large bowl. Divide other half into three small bowls .Add yellow food colour to one small bowl until desired shade is achieved and mix well.
Add equal amounts of yellow and blue food colour to the second small bowl to make a green icing. Add equal amounts of blue and red food colour to the third small bowl to make a purple icing.
Place coloured icings in small resealable plastic bags.
Seal. Cut tiny tip off corner of each bag. Frost each cookie with white icing using spatula or knife. Pipe coloured icings decoratively over each cake.
Comments
