Young kids are creatures of habit and my grandson is no exception. He likes to watch the same movies over and over again, play with the same trucks and use the same cup at my house.
And, food? Well, his lunch choice became a joke between us. I would ask him what he wanted and he would always yell, “A toasted bagel with cream cheese and peppy-pony!” (pepperoni). He called it his Nana Sandwich and it was a fun tradition for us both. I always made sure that I had all the ingredients on hand just in case he stopped over. So, when a friend told me recently that cream cheese was on a mega-sale at the grocery store, I jumped at the chance to stock up.
Imagine my surprise when the next time my grandson came over for lunch he requested a toasted bagel with real cheese and peppy-pony. “But, what about the cream cheese?” I asked. “I don’t like it anymore,” he responded. I came back with: “But, you’ve always loved it!” He just went on playing and said, “Not anymore.”
Seriously, it’s a good thing kids are so darn cute.
So, now my fridge is filled with a ton of unopened boxes of cream cheese. On top of that, a few days earlier, I sent my husband to the store with instructions to buy some Christmas candy for my little candy dish. He likes to read the fine print on the shelf tags, do the math and figure out what the cheapest price per pound is. Unfortunately, that means he comes home with dog food sized bags of flour, enough lettuce to feed an army of rabbits and vats of peanut butter. So, he bought the hugest bag of candy kisses I’ve ever seen!
I quickly jumped on Pinterest and did a search on “recipes that use cream cheese”. I found a yummy looking peanut butter cookie recipe and tweaked it a bit so I could use up some of the hundreds of candy kisses as well. Here is what I came up with:
LAYNE DOESN’T LIKE CREAM CHEESE ANYMORE COOKIES:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment.
In a medium bowl, whisk:
- 1 ¼ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cream together with a mixer:
- ¼ cup softened butter
- 4 ounces of softened cream cheese
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
Add in:
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
On low, mix in:
- 1 cup of peanut butter
- Gradually add in the dry mixture and mix just until blended. (Also, make sure you have approximately 36 unwrapped candy kisses on hand).
Roll the dough into tablespoon sized balls and bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a candy kiss into the center of the cookies upon removing from the oven. Cool for 5 minutes before putting the cookies on a rack to cool completely.
These turned out really yummy and my grandson will never guess there’s cream cheese in them!
And, if you don’t have any cream cheese or kisses at your house, come on over! I have a bucket-load!
