Chocolate Pillows

 These buttery vanilla cookies have a secret center. They were made with a cookie press and I loved making them!

A continuous line of cookie dough is extruded then a piece of chocolate candy is placed along the line of dough. That line of dough is topped with another and the pieces are sealed together and scored to make individual cookies.

The recipe was new to me and since I made them I have thought of all the variations that could be made using this method. Peanut butter dough could be used and filled with jam. Chocolate dough filled with a cherry. Spice dough filled with dried fruit. Cheddar dough filled with a pecan to make cheese straws.

They could also be decorated with sprinkles, jimmies, or icing. I'll be baking more of these.

Chocolate Pillows
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 Hershey bars, broken along score lines

Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Stir in flour and salt until combined.

Fill cookie press and fit with the ribbon stencil. Press a continuous line of dough onto an ungreased baking sheet with the ridged side down.  Place a piece of the candy along the strip of dough spacing them about 1/4 apart. Press another strip of cookie dough on top of the candies, this time with the ridges up.

Press the two strips together gently.  Score the dough between the chocolate pieces and trim the ends to make them straight. (The trimmed off piece of dough can be used again).

Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Cut into pieces along each scored line. Let them cool on the pans for a couple of minutes them remove to racks to cool completely.