Peanut Butter Cookies

Perhaps it's because I was raised on it, but I think JIF peanut butter is absolutely the best. Crunchy or creamy, on a sandwich or in a cookie, I can't resist it. So when I want to make peanut butter cookies, who would know better than JIF how to make them totally delicious? I don't alter this recipe one bit...except to bake them for two minutes less. I can't handle crunchy, over-baked cookies.


Ingredients
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup JIF peanut butter
1/2 cup butter-flavor Crisco shortening sticks
3 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt


Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, peanut butter, shortening, milk and vanilla. Beat with a stand- or hand-mixer until well blended.
3. Add the egg and beat until just blended.
4. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
5. Add flour mixture to the sugar mixture slowly on low speed. Mix until just blended.
6. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Form about one tbsp. of dough into a ball and set on the baking sheet. Repeat until baking sheet is full and the balls of dough are about two inches apart.
8. Flatten each ball using the tines of a fork, pushing down to form a criss-cross pattern.
9. Bake one sheet of cookies at a time for 6 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and let stand for two minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.