Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies (Recipe)

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups semisweet chocolate pieces

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.  Lightly grease a cookie sheet; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter or margarine and peanut butter.  Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy.  Gradually add the granulated sugar and brown sugar.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined; set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Add the flour mixture and chocolate pieces to the dough.  Stir until the dough is well blended.

4. Drop the butter by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared the cookie sheet.  Bake in the 350° oven for 9 to 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned or a slight impression remains when the cookies are lightly touched with a fingertip.  Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tips:

Don't use margarine to grease the cookie sheets; it's more likely to burn than shortening or a nonstick vegetable spray.

If you use margarine instead of butter, be sure to choose a product that's labeled "margarine," not "spread."  If you use 100-percent corn oil margarine the dough will be softer than it would be if you use other margarines.

For peanuttier flavor, add 1/3 cup chopped peanuts to the cookie dough.  Or, substitute peanut butter-flavored pieces (3/4 cup) for part of the chocolate pieces.

Cool the cookie sheet between batches to keep the dough from flattening too much during baking.  Light-colored cookie sheets are better than dark colored cookie sheets; dark colored cookie sheet can cause the cookies to overbrown on the bottoms and slices before the centers are baked.