Soft Peanut Butter Cookies

   Peanut Butter cookies were invented in the United States and can be traced back to the early 1900s.  The waffle pattern on the top of the cookies seems to have followed quickly and was mentioned as soon as 1932 in a recipe in The Schenectady Gazette, though no reason was ever given for the pattern.  I'm guessing it was and is to ensure that the cookies were flattened before baking.  All that peanut butter would make it difficult to cook evenly if they were in round balls. 

 
   This is my grandmother's recipe and it is delicious.  So full of peanut butter and chewy.  The whole house smells good when you bake these and I just can't stop eating them from the second they come out of the oven.  I have burnt my mouth and fingers on many of these because I can't wait those 5 minutes it takes for them to cool enough to eat.

1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup of brown sugar, packed
1 cup of granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups of flour



     Cream the first 5 ingredients together.  Add the eggs and mix.  Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.


    




Drop batter by small teaspoons onto a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet.  Press down with a fork, creating a waffle pattern, until each one is round and firm.

     Bake 10 to 12 minutes at 375 degrees.