Cookie Monster
If you ask my husband what he wants for Father’s Day, he will tell you without hesitation that he neither needs nor wants anything. He has said, however, that he would be okay with a clean and organized house. I wish I could say that is an easy request….

The love of my life is not a person that needs stuff (unless you count musical instruments). In fact, his preference is for the least amount of stuff he can get away with. Because of this, it is hard to recognize his awesomeness as a father in the usual ways. That is why birthdays and Father’s Day are usually celebrated with some sort of special food item.

There are many treats that our #1 Dad thinks are the best thing ever. The first would be ice cream. Whether it is a bowl of his favorite Tin Roof Sundae or an ice cream sandwich, anyone who thinks they might be able to keep a stash on hand for craving emergencies would be very, very wrong. You’d be lucky if either lasts the night. There is one other tasty treat that trumps even the most decadent ice cream and that treat would be cookies.

One of the first things I learned about my husband when we met was of his love of cookies. In fact, cookie was the first word he spoke as a child. To say that he has never met a cookie he didn’t like would be a massive understatement. But, his hands down, absolute favorite is classic peanut butter cookie dipped in melted chocolate.

While I love peanut butter cookies they are a variety I don’t make very often. Mainly because most of the cookies I make are for school functions and peanuts are generally a bad idea at school. So, to celebrate and thank the best father to my kids that I could ever have thought of, I will be making these to go with the milk in his World’s Greatest Dad mug.

Giant Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Yields about 2 dozen giant cookies

Ingredients
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/3 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups chunky peanut butter (We use Koeze.)
3 cups all-purpose flour (We use King Arthur.)
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (We use Guittard.)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets (or line them with parchment or a non-stick sheet).

Make the cookie dough
Beat together the shortening, sugars, egg, vanilla, and peanut butter until smooth.

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the peanut butter mixture, beating gently until everything is well combined. It may take a while for this rather dry dough to come together and when it does, it will be stiff. If necessary, drizzle in enough water to make the dough cohesive—a few drops at a time.

Make the cookies
Drop the cookie dough by the 1/8-cup onto the prepared baking sheets (a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop works well). Allow at least 3-inches in between each cookie.

Use a fork to flatten each cookie to about 1/2-inch thick, making a cross-hatch design.

Bake the cookies until they’re barely beginning to brown around the edges and the tops have now browned (about 15 minutes).

Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow to cool completely on a rack.

Melt the chocolate
Once the cookies are cool, line a baking sheet with parchment. Put the chocolate in a small, microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring, until smooth.

Coat the cookies
Dip the cookies halfway into the chocolate, letting the excess drip off. Then place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate the cookies until the chocolate just sets (about 10 to 15 minutes).