Peanut Butter "King Cake" Cookie

1/2 c Crisco shortening

1 1/4 c Firmly-packed brown sugar

3/4 c Creamy peanut butter

3 tb Milk

1 tb Vanilla

1 Egg

1 3/4 c All-purpose flour

3/4 ts Salt

3/4 ts Baking soda

3 Chocolate kisses or

Chocolate candy-coated -pieces Icing: 2 1/2 c Icing sugar

1/3 c Crisco shortening

2 tb Milk

2 ts Corn syrup

Food colour 1. Preheat oven to 375F (190C). Line three baking sheets

with foil. Grease with shortening. 2. 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. 3. Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add to creamed

mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended. 4. Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Working with 1/3 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." 5. Bake one baking sheet at a time at 375F (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. 6. For icing, combine icing sugar, shortening, milk and

corn syrup in bowl. 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. 7. Divide icing into half. Place 1/2 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 "King cake." Makes: 3 "King cake" cookies -----