Bear Paws

I got this Bear Paws recipe from the Duncan Hines website, and I thought it looked fairly easy and fun to make. An interesting thing is that it uses brownie mix instead of cookie dough. It is fast and delicious, a perfect treat to make with your kids on a lazy summer day.


What you need:

• 1 box Duncan Hines Milk Chocolate Brownie Mix
• 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons water
• 60 peanuts split into halves
• 30 chocolate candy Kisses (I used dark)

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl combine brownie mix, butter and egg; stir with a fork to combine into a stiff dough. Or better yet, use your (clean) hands and knead gently.

Working with 1 even tablespoon of dough at a time, roll dough into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets.

Even and uneven tablespoons

Press candy pieces, points down so that the flat surface is up, into the center of the uncooked cookies. Press four peanut halves, split sides down, into the edge of each cookie to form claws.

Yes, I painstakingly picked the peanuts from the rest of the other nuts in the can.

Bake at 350°F for 11 minutes or just until the edges are set. The cookies may appear slightly undercooked, but do not over bake. Cool 1 minute on pans. Transfer to wire racks with a thin metal spatula and cool completely.


Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:

1. For those with peanut allergy (or those who just doesn't like the taste of it), use white chocolate for the claws.
2. I used the dark chocolate variety of Kisses, but you can use any kind that you like!
3. Cover the remaining dough in between batches to prevent drying.
4. You can use unsalted nuts instead of salted.