Triple Treat Cookies

~Jackie~

Christmas is around the corner and I’m still baking! My husband is thrilled when we do Cookie Week each year because he is the first to get his hands (teeth) on everything I make. This last weekend I made a dozen of these Triple Treat Cookies, his favorite, and I left to go skiing and when I came back 24 hours later they were ALL gone. A compliment to my baking, but now I know I can no longer trust him among baked goods. I can’t blame him though because I know that these were his favorite cookies growing up and still remain a favorite today. These sweet and salty cookies are crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle with a mix of chocolate and different flavors throughout. My mother-in-law gave me this recipe last Christmas when she gave me a handmade recipe book, but I had tried the cookies the first year I met my husband. I have no doubt that they will continue to be a yearly tradition in our family to come. 

Triple treat cookies are not necessarily “holiday” cookies, but they traditionally are in my husbands family around Christmas time. I highly recommend adding them to your list of Christmas cookies, but they are also great in the summer to bring to a BBQ or birthday party! So what’s the triple in the triple treat cookies? Well, they are baked to perfection with the goodness of peanut butter, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips. My mother-in-law also adds crushed peanuts to her cookies, but really any other nut can be added, or the chips can be swapped out for white chocolate, or another kind of candy, or even dried fruit can be swapped in. There are so many variations to the triple treat cookie recipe I’m not even sure what the original “triple” ingredients were! 

If you want A LOT of cookies, I recommend following my recipe exactly as it makes a few dozen cookies. I usually just make the whole batch, bake a dozen, then freeze the rest of the dough for when I’m craving something sweet or need a quick treat to bring to a party. To make the cookies, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a large cookie sheet. Cream together shortening, white sugar, brown sugar, and two eggs. To that mixture, add vanilla and a cup of peanut butter and blend until combined. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt, and whisk together. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet mixture and slowly mix, lastly adding in the chocolate and butterscotch chips. Then drop a large spoonful of dough onto the cookie sheet and slightly flatten with a fork (similar to peanut butter cookies). Bake for 10-13 minutes or until slightly browned, depending on the size of the cookie. Transfer to cooling rack and store any uneaten cookies in an airtight container. Hope you enjoy baking and eating these as much as we do! Happy baking and happy holidays!