1 Cup Shortening* 1 Cup Sugar 1 Cup Brown Sugar 1 Teaspoon Vanilla 2 Eggs 1 Cup Peanut Butter** 3 Cups White or Unbleached Flour 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda 1/8 Teaspoon Salt
Combine shortening, sugars, and vanilla and mix well. Add eggs and peanut butter and continue mixing until well mixed. Sift remaining dry ingredients together and add to mixture. When mixed the dough should be firm but still easily formable with your fingers.
Roll dough into small balls about the size of golf balls or slightly larger, and place a couple inches apart on a cookie sheet. Press the balls flat with a fork to give the cookies their characteristic appearance. Bake for 15 minutes at 375° F.
* A note on using Shortening. In these days of modern health consciousness we are being encouraged to substitute liquid shortening or various oils for solid shortening. While these substitutions often work well in many recipes, it just doesn't work in cookies. The result is a thin, hard, and generally unpleasing cookie. To make a really good cookie you have to use solid shortening.
** A note on Peanut Butter. This recipe is formulated for unsweetened peanut butter. Check the label before buying to make sure that the ingredients do not include sugar or molasses. Super chunky peanut butter can be used and will result in noticeable chunks of peanuts in the cookies.