Good peanut butter cookies are hard to come by in stores. Because of the high oil content, peanut butter cookies have a shorter shelf life than most cookies, causing them to go stale or bitter tasting quickly. The good news is they couldn’t be easier to make. Requiring no leavening whatsoever, and only a cup of flour, these cookies are dense but still maintain a soft, chewy inside.

Peanut Butter Chocolate cookies

Makes 18- 22 cookies

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky)

¼ cup granulated sugar

½ cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp salt

1 cup all purpose flour

4 oz white chocolate chips (optional)

4 oz semi sweet chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Combine butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar with a whisk or hand mixer until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time and add the vanilla.

2. Add salt, then the flour, ½ cup at a time. Then, add the chocolate chips. Quick tip: if you dust the chocolate chips with flour before adding to the mix, the flour will stick, causing them to rise and pop up to the tops of the cookies, making for a nicer presentation.

3. Form the dough into cookies, making each one two tablespoons of dough.

4. Bake 10-12 minutes.

These cookies will keep in an airtight container for about four or five days. Eating them up quickly should not be a problem.