Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

I adore Peanut Butter cookies, and my kids like chocolate. So one day when I was mixing up some PB cookies, my daughter chimed in with, "Can't we put some CHOCOLATE in there?!" Normally I would just add chocolate chips as a compromise, but I didn't have any in the house. I figured cocoa powder would be a good idea; maybe they would taste like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. So I substituted some of the flour for Cocoa Powder, and I'm glad I tried it - One simple change to a classic peanut butter cookie recipe made them deliciously different!

1 Cup Peanut Butter (Chunky or smooth depends on whether you want bits of peanut in the cookies)
1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick)
2 Tablespoons Shortening
1/2 Cup White Sugar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 Cups Flour
1/3 Cup Cocoa Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

Optional: Add Peanut Butter Chips or Chocolate Chips, Nuts or Candies (1/2 to 1 Cup as desired)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream the Butter, Shortening, Peanut Butter and sugars with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until combined. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda with a fork until well-mixed. Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and beat on low until smooth. Add any chips/nuts you want to at this point.

Roll the dough into balls, then roll balls in granulated sugar. Place on cookie sheet. Press down on the balls with a fork to make the classic Peanut butter criss-cross pattern.

Drop onto a greased (or parchment lined) cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until the cookies look "set" and the tops are no longer shiny. (It is hard to detect browning with cookies this color). Cool on parchment or brown paper, then enjoy!