A surprise inside ‘world’s best’

Dear SOS: Many years ago I clipped a recipe from the Los Angeles Times for peanut butter cookies. I think it was called “world’s best peanut butter cookies” because they were! I’ve since lost it. Please help.

Velda Mowry

Valencia

Dear Velda: These cookies are great to bake for a party because you can make the dough ahead of time, then just pop it in the refrigerator.

The filling is so simple: just a bit of peanut butter, and if you want, chocolate chips.

Add three or four chips to the filling per cookie, and you’ll have a wonderful chocolate addition.

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Double peanut butter cookies

Total time: 1 hour, plus 2 hours chilling

Servings: 14 cookies

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening

Peanut butter

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1 tablespoon milk

1. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, shortening and one-half cup peanut butter. Mix together until it resembles coarse meal. Add the corn syrup and milk. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form into a long roll about 2 inches in diameter. Chill the dough until firm.

2. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

3. Cut the dough into slices one-fourth inch thick. Place half of the dough slices about 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Dab the center of each slice with one-half teaspoon of peanut butter. Top with another slice of dough. Seal the 2 slices with the prongs of a fork. Bake until light golden brown but still soft to the touch in the center, 12 minutes.

Each cookie: 174 calories; 105 mg. sodium; 0 cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.52 gram fiber.