Peanut Butter Cookies

My absolute FAVORITE cookie is the peanut butter cookie!! And the perfect way to have them is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside (although I prefer every cookie that way, so...). I made them tonight because Brian isn't home and he dislikes them. All the more for me, yay!!

This recipe makes the best peanut butter cookie I've had. And of course, I got it from my mom. Somehow, she can always make the cookie look perfect-I have yet to perfect that...I'll get there though, even if it takes me 20" (on my waist....or thighs I suppose, but most likely waist). And I have no idea of the caloric intake of each cookie, because while I am relishing every single crumb, the thought is far from my mind (until I look at the scale the next day).

Peanut Butter Cookies

½ cup butter or margarine
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup peanut butter
1 egg
½ tsp. Vanilla
1¼-cup flour
¾ tsp. Baking soda
¼ tsp. Salt

Thoroughly cream butter, peanut butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Sift together dry ingredients; blend into creamed mixture. Shape in 1-inch balls; Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press gently with floured fork tines to make a crisscross on the top of each cookie. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly and remove from pan. Makes 4 dozen. I usually cook them for only ten minutes. That makes a perfect crunchy outside and chewy inside.

They look a little pale, but that was the flash on the camera.

On a side note, I found this interesting website on peanuts and...did you know that you press the crisscross pattern into the cookies because it more evenly distributes the dense dough? I always wondered that. And now I know.

http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/recipes/peanutrecipes.html

Let me know if you decide to make any of the peanut recipes in the above link (it's the "105 Ways to Use the Peanut" section. I'm curious to try a few, but don't have the guts.