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Wow! Can you believe we are in mid-April? Spring is here and 2017 is one-third over. On April 30 we celebrate Dia del Niño in our home, Kids Day. Dia del Niño is celebrated in Latin America at various times of the year. On April 30, it is celebrated in Mexico.
I’m very familiar with Dia del Niño. My elementary school in Mexico would hold a special festival in our school yard filled with live music, entertainers and fun activities the entire day. The parents and teachers took weeks to plan this special day. Any little bit helped. Some parents dressed up as clowns others provided kid-friendly food and supplies for arts and crafts. The kids went home with lots of dessert treats, snacks and memories to cherish for the rest of their lives.
Since Kids Day is not celebrated in the US the way it is celebrated in Mexico. I decided to make it a special day in our home. We play games, make crafts and enjoy special kid-sized treats made with fun ingredients and flavors.
This year, I decided to make peanut butter cookie cups. The peanut butter cookie dough is made from scratch and holds a special surprise inside: A mini peanut butter cup topped with Cocoa Pebbles cereal and just the right sprinkle of crushed almonds. The combination is perfect! Peanut butter and chocolate of course, but the addition of Cocoa Pebbles give it a crispy chocolatey crunch to each and every bite.
The size of these treats is about half the size of standard cupcake. You can make them even smaller by using a mini cupcake baking mold. Those would be perfect as a sweet appetizer or to accompany a creamy scoop of vanilla ice cream. I decided to make ours a bit bigger because they could easily be packed in a lunch box or taken as snacks on road trips.
These peanut butter cookie cups are great for an Easter picnic or even a contribution to a bake sale or school function. The kids will go crazy for them and will love the special surprise inside these treats.
For more information on Post’s Cocoa Pebbles and all the other Pebble’s varieties, follow along on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Pebbles cereal wants to inspire kids to start learning! Visit Pebbles cereal new website, “Yabba Dabba Do’ something: a collection of DO’s. Have the kiddos check out so many fun activities they can do. Have them do games, do jokes, do crafts and fill their time with lots of fun!
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup good quality smooth peanut butter
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 mini peanut butter cups unwrapped
- 1/2 cup Cocoa Pebbles
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
- Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Combine sugar, peanut butter, and butter in a large bowl. Beat with a stand mixer or electric mixer on medium speed. Add egg, heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract. Gradually add dry ingredients 1/2 cup at a time. Continue to beat on low speed until all ingredients have combined.
- Scoop 2 tablespoons of cookie mixture on the palm of your hand and shape into a ball. Lightly flatten into a 1/2-inch disc and place in muffin tin mold. Continue until all muffin cups have been filled.
- Bake for 12 minutes. Immediately press 1 peanut butter cup in the center of each cookie cup and top with 2 teaspoons of Cocoa Pebbles and a sprinkle of crushed almonds.
- Return mold to oven and bake for 5-7 minutes more. Remove from oven. Let cool in mold for 15 minutes. Carefully remove each cookie cup from each mold. Serve and enjoy.
