Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter is a good source of vitamin E and magnesium and contains mostly mononunsaturated fat, which may reduce the risk of heart disease. Enjoy in moderation.

Serves: 12
Prep:    10 min
Cook:   40 min
Total:   50 min
              
Ingredients

• 1/4 cups plus 2 tbsp packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cups organic vegetable shortening
• 1/4 cups chunky natural peanut butter
• 1 lg egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 oz semisweet baking chocolate, broken into 36 small chunks

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment.

2. Combine sugar, spread, peanut butter, egg yolk, and vanilla extract in large bowl and mix until well combined. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to peanut butter mixture and stir until well combined. Divide dough into 36 cookies, using 1 generous teaspoon per cookie, and place on baking sheets. Lightly press each cookie down with fingers until slightly larger than a quarter and about 1/4" thick. Bake until lightly golden, 9 to 11 minutes.

3. Remove cookies from oven and immediately press a chocolate chunk onto center of each. Cool completely on baking sheet or place in refrigerator 15 minutes to firm chocolate.

Recipe Notes
To keep the size of these cookies uniform, use a measuring teaspoon

Nutritional Facts per serving
Calories             141.4 cal
Fat                    8.4 g
Saturated fat     2.4 g
Cholesterol        17.5 mg
Sodium             103.8 mg
Carbohydrates   15 g
Total sugars       9.8 g
Dietary fiber      0.8 g
Protein              2.3 g

Recipe courtesy of the Rodale Healthy Recipe Finder.

Photo: Marcus Nilsson