Classic Peanut Butter Cookies - King Arthur Flour

This is from www.kingarthurflour.com Website: An all-time favorite, these cookies are perfect after school with a glass of cold milk. Our guarantee: These golden-blonde cookies are slightly soft and mildly chewy (rather than crunchy), with satisfying peanut butter taste.

• Ready In: 29 mins
• Serves: 24
• Yields: 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 1⁄4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
• 1⁄2 cup light brown sugar
• 1  large egg
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3⁄4 cup  smooth peanut butter
• 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 2 -3  tablespoons water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
2. Beat together the shortening, sugars, egg, vanilla, and peanut butter until smooth.
3. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the peanut-butter mixture, beating gently until everything is well combined. Add enough water to make a cohesive dough.
4. Drop the cookie dough by tablepoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets (a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here), leaving 2" between them.
5. Use a fork to flatten each cookie to about 1/2" thick, making a cross-hatch design.
6. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, until they're barely beginning to brown around the edges; the tops won't have browned. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.