Dark Chocolate Reese's Pieces PB Cookies

I also made some cookies up (and a Neujahrspretzel but who's counting?) for the gathering.  Despte the crazy cookie madness that was last week w/ Christmas, I still feel compelled to bake up cookies when I get inspired.  I was standing at the grocery store and saw bags of Dark Chocolate Reese's Pieces and Dark Chocolate mini-mint sized york peppermint patties.  I got to thinking.  I searched for the best PB and M&M recipe I could find.  I came up with some slight changes of my own, but the main recipe was from here.

Dark Chocolate Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies
adapted from Une Gamine dans la Cuisine who adapted from Blog Chef
Yield:  For full recipe, probably about 40 cookies with a large cookie scoop (I halved and got 20).  Measurements in recipe below are for the full recipe.
Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 tsp. of baking soda 
• 1 tsp. of baking powder 
• 1 tsp. of salt ( I used 2 tsp. of sea salt  - makes the cookies taste unbelievable)
• 1/2 cup of room temp. butter
• 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening (I used butter flavored shortening because it was all that I had)
  
• 1 cup of peanut butter
• 1 cup of packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
• 1 cup of Dark Chocolate Reese's Pieces (or Dark chocolate M & M's, or milk chocolate)
• 1/2 cup of Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Baking Chips (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and shortening together. 
3. Add the peanut butter and beat until smooth. 
4. Add both sugars and continue to beat until everything is well incorporated. 
5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
6. Add the vanilla extract and beat to blend. 
7. Using a large wooden spoon or your hands, add the flour a little bit at a time until there are no white streaks. 
8. Stir in the Reese's Pieces or M&M's & Chocolate (if using) until they are evenly dispersed through out the batter. 
9. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.
10. Preheat the oven to 350F. 
11. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. 
12. Scoop out rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough (I used my large cookie scoop) and place each cookie about 2 inches apart. 
13. If you want, you can make a criss cross pattern with a lightly floured fork. 
14. Bake for about 8-10 minutes. If you prefer crispy cookies, increase the time to 11-12 minutes.  (Mine were slightly larger and took about 15 minutes at 350 degrees.)
    
15. Allow the sheets to cool for 5 minutes before removing the cookies.

CAUTION:  These cookies are amazing.  Then again, I've never really had any problems eating any type of cookie.  The sea salt, dark chocolate and PB combo is to die for.  You must eat one with a cold glass of milk!