Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Cookies

My friend Susan sent me this WhatsApp message today: "That blog of yours ... been a bit lazy recently?" Sure, she might have had a point but in my defence, she was trying to get back at me for forcing her to go running (as she had promised she would).
Oh wait, hang on, that wasn't in my defence at all. Okay, I'll try again. In my defence, since I last blogged, I have moved my entire room into a whole other entire room (I'm hoping my repetitive use of the word 'entire' helps to exaggerate the magnitude of the task appropriately), got a new job and finally, visited Birmingham which is a land far far away.

Plus as, Einstein may or may not have said, "it is not the frequency of the blogging that counts, rather the quality of the posts" and boy, this post is a great one! Or rather the recipe is. The rambling that accompanies the recipe is mediocre at best.

These cookies are soft but firm, chocolatey but not overwhelmingly so, and they're choc full of Reese's peanut butter cups which always makes for a winning recipe! My friends from my previous job and I have been pretty good at holding tea parties about twice a year and I made these for the last one. I dare say they were a hit :)

These are from the wonderful Annie's Eats; who has graduated from just being my foodie crush to being my superwoman inspiration!

Yield: 16 large cookies

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp plain flour
6 tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp coarse salt
85g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk
2 cups coarsely chopped Reese's peanut butter cups

1. Preheat the oven to 180C / Gas Mark 4 / 350F. Line baking sheets with grease proof paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. 
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, peanut butter, and sugars. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. 
4. Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and milk. Beat until smooth. 
5. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. Add in 1 1/2 cups of the chopped peanut butter cups and fold in gently with a spatula.
6. Roll a heaped tablespoon of dough into a ball, one at a time, and space 2 - 3 inches apart on the baking sheet. Gently press a few pieces of the remaining Reese's peanut butter cups into the top of each of the dough balls. 
7. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. (The cookies may seem too soft immediately after coming out of the oven but they will set as they cool. You don't want to overbake them).
8. Let cool on the baking sheets about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.