Ice cream shops often make ice cream even better by adding candy and cookie mix-ins. Along the lines of that good idea, these cookies have peanut butter cup pieces mixed into a peanut butter dough.
makes 20 cookies • cookie making 20 minutes • cookie baking 325 degrees, two baking sheets for about 18 minutes each
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup (4 tablespoons) vegetable shortening, such as Crisco
¾ cup smooth peanut butter, at room temperature
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (about 9½ ounces) peanut butter cups, cut into ½- to ¾-inch pieces
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, vegetable shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smoothly blended and the color has lightened slightly, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Mix in the egg and vanilla, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated. The dough will be soft and smooth. Use a large spoon to mix in the peanut butter cup pieces.
Drop heaping tablespoons (about 3 level tablespoons each) of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 3 inches apart. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and have several small cracks, about 18 minutes. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool thoroughly.
The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.