Peanut Butter Cookies

This is a favorite of mine.  I got it from a magazine a few years ago and it is my go to recipe.  I love that I can make big cookies or small.  It is a soft dough, so don't panic when you scoop it out.  Enjoy!

4 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2  tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 c. creamy peanut butter
2/3 c. sugar
2 1/4 c. brown sugar, packed
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3 large eggs, PLUS 2 yolks
2 T. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 deg.  Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven.
Makes 40 +/- jumbo cookies

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

Beat together buyer, peanut butter, sugars and oil with an electric mixer at high speed just until pale and creamy (about 2 minutes in a stand mixer; longer if using a hand mixer).  Add whole eggs, yolks and vanilla and beat until just incorporated.  Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture slowly, mixing until well incorporated.

Using a large ice cream scoop,  scoop dough and place on ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart.  Flatten the cookies with the floured tines of a fork making a cross hatch pattern.  Cookies should be about 1/2" thick.  For smaller cookies use a cookie scoop that scoops 3 T.

To determine the size of your scoop, fill with water and then empty into a measuring cup to see what size you have.

Bake cookies, switching position of the sheets half way thru the baking until they are slightly puffed and golden around the edges.  Transfer to racks to cool.    On the next batch, transfer the racks to the middle of the oven and cook until slightly puffed and golden.

Cooking times:  for jumbo cookies - 18 to 20 minutes
                          for smaller cookies 15-17 minutes