Peanut Butter Cookies: The Classic and a Twist

Peanut butter itself is an undeniable guilty pleasure in my family's home-we've all been caught eating spoonfuls right out of the jar-and it only gets better as the star of our peanut butter cookies.  These cookies always surprise me with just how good they are and by just how quickly they disappear!
This time I was feeling like mixing it up a bit and trying a new twist on this favorite classic.  My little twist was a bag of chocolate chips.  I definitely can't argue with the chocolate, peanut butter combination and especially not after making, well really after eating, these peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.  I must admit that I was second guessing my decision to add an entire bag of chocolate chips into half of the peanut butter dough as the mixer grumbled and I had to search through the chips to find some dough.  But, after biting into just a few of the chocolate chip studded peanut butter cookies I was perfectly pleased!

Ingredients
1/2 cup        shortening
1/2 cup        butter
1 cup           peanut butter  (creamy JIFF is my one and only!)
1 cup           sugar
1 cup           brown sugar
2                 eggs
2 1/2 cups    flour
1 tsp            baking powder
1 1/2 tsp       baking soda
1/4 tsp         salt
Extra sugar for rolling
Chocolate chips if you're up for a twist!

1.  Mix shortening, butter, peanut butter, sugars, and eggs.
2.  Mix in dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt).
       * Mix in chocolate chips here!
3.  Chill dough about 2 hours...or a little less if you're impatient too!
4.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
5.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
6.  Roll dough into balls about the size of a golf ball.
7.  Roll dough balls in sugar.
8.  Place on baking and use a fork to flatten in a crisscross design.
9.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.

I made one batch of dough and split it in two...half classic peanut butter and half peanut butter chocolate chip...perfect for an indecisive sweet tooth!