In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch and salt together. Set aside.
1 ½ cups all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until creamy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
½ cup unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar
Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Add the peanut butter to the mixture and mix until combined, again, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low just until combined.
Add violet or purple gel food coloring to the dough until you reach the color you're looking for. Make sure you are thoroughly incorporating the food color with the dough before adding more.
purple gel food coloring
Cover and chill the dough for 2 hour or overnight. (If chilling overnight, you may need to let the dough sit at room temperature for 15 minutes or so until the dough softens enough that it can be scooped.)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets (half sheets) with silicone baking mats or parchment paper and set aside.
Place colored sugar or sprinkles (whichever you are using) in a small bowl.
Halloween sprinkles or purple sanding sugar
Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to scoop about 1 tablespoon of cookie dough and roll into a ball with the palms of your hands. Roll the ball in the sugar and place on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining cookie dough. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies begin to puff up and show small cracks. The cookies should not brown at all. Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet.
Gently press a hug or a kiss into the center of each cookie.
30 Hugs or chocolate kisses
Place the cookie sheet directly into the freezer for 10 minutes to prevent the chocolate from melting. Remove from freezer and transfer to a wire cooling rack while you bake the rest of the cookies.