Peanut Butter Cookies

This is my mom’s recipe.  It’s the one I’ve always used.  I’ve tried others before but they just don’t compare to this one.  It has the right amount of peanut buttery taste, sweetness, and softness (or crispness if you bake a bit longer).  You can barely bake (for soft cookies) or bake a little longer (for crunchy cookies).  My husband and I like soft; our girls like crisp (for dipping in milk!).  Since I get distracted easily and don’t always remove them early for the soft ones, I usually end up with some soft and some crisp.

1 cup butter or margarine

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

3 cups flour (you can use 2 for richer cookies but I prefer 3 for the texture)

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt.  In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and peanut butter.  Add the sugars and blend well.  Mix in vanilla and eggs.  Add the flour mixture and stir until combined.

Place balls of dough on an ungreased cookie sheet (I use a cookie scoop, but you can just make small balls; about the size of a walnut or smaller).  Flatten with a fork dipped in white sugar to make a criss-cross pattern.

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

Allow to cool for a minute or two.  Remove from pans to wax paper, a kitchen towel, or a cake rack. 

Enjoy!