I took down my favorite brownie recipe, given to me by a good friend, and tried to do something in-between them and the cookie recipe on the bag. I’ve made cookies enough in my lifetime to know approximately what goes into an average recipe, what the dough is supposed to look like, and that if it tastes good before you bake it, they should be just fine when they come out of the oven. (I also know roughly what a half-cup of shortening looks like, so I just took a knife and scooped some into the bowl, like I said, I wasn’t in the mood for cleaning up a lot of sticky stuff.)
The batter was large enough to not only make a sheet of bar cookies, but to also get 18 round cookies for our stake dance Saturday night. When my husband got home, we split one of the cookies to make sure they tasted good enough for company. After I told him what I did he said, “Did you write down the recipe?”
“Um, not yet,” I replied
“Write it down right now, I’ve never had cookies that taste quite like this before.”
So here is my latest experiment, courtesy of John's insistence that I be able to duplicate it. If you want to come to the court of honor tomorrow night, you can sample them for yourself. :o)
2 sticks (1 c.) butter
1/2 c. shortening
2 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. cocoa
1/4 t. salt
1/2 T. baking powder
1 T. vanilla
4 eggs
4 c. flour
1 bag peanut butter chips
Blend all ingredients together except flour and chips. Add flour 1 cup at a time until well mixed. Stir in chips.
For round cookies, reserve some of the chips and press 4-5 chips into ball of dough before baking. It takes an extra minute or two, but they look a lot nicer that way. Bake 8 minutes at 350.
For bar cookies, spread batter evenly into pan with the back of a large spoon, then smooth together with fingertips. Bake 25 minutes at 350. (This picture isn't very good, since it looks like I burned it, but it's really because it's chocolate batter and just makes a dark cookie.)
Enjoy!
