Peanut butter Cookies
1 c butter (1/2 pound ~ 225 g)
1 c granulated sugar
1 c brown sugar (from cane is best, or another cup white sugar+ 1.5 tbsp molasses is second best, and if nothing else is available, brown sugar from beets will do)
2 eggs (medium, not large or extra large)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 c peanut butter (375 g ~ 4/5 pound)
3 c flour (or enough to make the dough stiff and not sticky)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Optional Ingredients
    These three spices make the cookies taste a bit more hearty, a bit like gingerbread or pumpkin pie.
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cloves
    This gives the cookies a faint taste which many people identify as cherry.  Most people like the taste but can't identify it.
2 tsp almond extract
    Well, anything tastes better with chocolate.
2 cups chocolate chips if desired

Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips and flour.  Add flour until thick and not sticky (may take more than 3 cups.)  Add chocolate chips if desired.  Roll into 1" balls.  Squish to about 1 cm thick either with a glass or using a fork and making a criss-cross pattern in the dough.  Bake on a greased pan at 350F until the dough holds its shape when poked lightly with a finger (about 10 minutes.)

Source: Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Meredith Publishing, 1962.

Notes: 
-Yummy
-you can cut the recipe in half.  This may be the doubled recipe.
-black pans generally don't work well -- the bottoms of the cookies get burned sometimes
-the last pan is most likely to burn since the oven has heated up a bit more by then.  Watch that pan carefully.
-These freeze well.  To do this:
    -take the dough you want to freeze and shape it into a 5 cm (2") diameter log
    -cut in to 1 cm (1/4") thick slices
    -freeze wrapped in plastic wrap or foil
    -when ready to cook, take out of the freezer and separate the cookies.  (They may have frozen together, but if you whack them on the counter, they separate fine.)
    -put them on a cookie sheet and cook as normal, just watch them a little more carefully since the cooking time may be slightly longer (1-3 min.)  It also works to warm up the oven with the cookies in it because they will thaw while the oven is warming up.
-Making these in gas ovens:  Gas ovens don't stay at nearly as stable of a temperature, so the cookies need to be watched more carefully.  Keep the cookies away from the heat source, as far as possible, and if you have multiple pans, alternate which one is closest to the heat source so none of them get burnt.