Steve’s Peanut Butter Cookies

A couple Decembers ago I was looking for a peanut butter cookie dough recipe for blossoms. My younger brother spouted this one out from memory. Since I never memorize anything I stood there in disbelief for a minute, and then asked him to repeat it again. Evidently he developed this recipe while working for a restaurant, and it’s the only peanut butter cookie recipe he will use.

1 cup shortening
1 cup Jiff peanut butter (I’ve been threatened to always use Jiff by the chef)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups good quality all purpose flour

Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour or longer.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Cream shortening, Jiff peanut butter, sugar, and brown sugar together in a food processor or mixer. Add eggs and mix. Add baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix again until incorporated. Add the flour and mix until just combined.

Measure out ¾ inch balls and press with the tines of a fork to make markings. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes and let rest on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Note: This dough makes great peanut butter blossoms. After rolling into balls, bake and let rest on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before pressing in a Hershey’s Kiss or miniature peanut butter cup.