My inlaws came to visit last weekend because Jake is still in his "demolition nesting" mode of getting everything you could ever imagine done with the house before the baby comes (remember the hole in the wall last week?). So, now his dad was here helping to put a drywall ceiling up in our sunroom which left his mom and I to our own devices. Which lead to shopping. Which lead to Costco. Of course.
While at there I bought more peanut butter than the average person would eat in a year... or two... or four. Jake's mom actually looked at me like I was crazy. I recognized that look immediately. (Kidding! Sorta.) But I assured her that I will absolutely go through the pb before it goes bad. Does peanut butter go bad? I'm not really sure.
Blame it on my mother. The woman loved peanut butter. Reese's cups, pb on toast, pb&j sandwiches. Anything and everything. And it was always Jif. Choosy moms choose Jif (or so I hear). So, peanut butter cookies were a natural choice. And adding in oatmeal for texture and m&ms for crunchy, chocolately goodness could do nothing but help.
And then being related to Grandpa Ron and my dad is what made my throw some ice cream in with the cookies. Grandpa actually got his college degree in dairy science (who knew that major existed?). I had no hope to not love ice cream. And these cookies had no hope of lasting long in our house.
Oatmeal, M&M, and Peanut Butter Cookies (adapted from AllRecipies):
1/2 cup shortening 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1 cup packed brown sugar 3/4 cup white sugar 1.5 cups peanut butter 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1.5 cups quick-cooking oats 1 cup M&Ms (or chocolate chips)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together shortening, butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the oats and M&Ms until just combined. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until just light brown. Don't overbake! Cool and store in an airtight container or eat with ice cream as soon as possible.