Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies

• 1/2 cup all vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place sheets of foil on countertop for cooling cookies.

Combine shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add egg. Beat just until blended.

Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Flatten slightly in crisscross pattern with tines of fork.

Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to foil to cool completely.

(from: KinderArt.com)

Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

• 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 egg yolk

NOTE: This makes a LOT of cookies! You can cut this dough in half, use one half, and freeze the other for another time.

Shape rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls. Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Press thumb into centers of cookies, making deep indentations. Bake 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, and with 1/3 cup red raspberry preserves* fill indentations. Bake 5 minutes; immediately remove and cool cookies on racks.

*You can vary this recipe by using different flavored preserves. I have used blackberry, strawberry, mixed berry and boysenberry all with excellent results.

(Recipe from: KinderArt.com)