Double the Peanut Butter Cookies

Curtis flew back to college Saturday. This morning I forgot he was gone for a moment and almost went upstairs to wake him up. We had him for 3 fleeting weeks and won't see him again until Thanksgiving.  Before he left, we had a little going away party, for which I asked him if there was anything he wanted me to make.  You see where I'm going with this?  "Yes," he said, "please make your peanut butter cookies."

I know everyone already has a peanut butter cookie recipe, but my kids and their friends are always asking me to make these.  My recipe uses double the amount of peanut butter and I don't roll them in sugar before I flatten and bake them.  They stay moist and tender and aren't sugary sweet, just very peanut-buttery. I always make a double batch, because otherwise they're gone before I go to bed.

Double the Peanut Butter Cookies
Makes 2 dozen cookies


1 cup smooth peanut butter (I always use Skippy)
1/4 cup Crisco (this is important for texture)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Blend the Crisco, butter and peanut butters.  Add the sugars and blend well.  Add the egg and vanilla and blend well.  In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Add to the peanut butter mixture and mix well.


Drop the dough by tablespoons onto the cookie sheet.  Do not roll into balls first.  You want the cookies to have lots of craggy edges.  Using a fork dipped in flour, make cross-hatch marks on the cookies, dipping the fork in flour with each use.


Bake for 11 minutes, until slightly browned.  Cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before you transfer them to a cooling rack.