Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Cream together the shortening, sugars, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, salt, and peanut butter. Stir in the flour.

3. Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto the lined baking sheets. Press down on each cookie with a fork to make a crisscross design.

4. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, or until they are lightly browned. Remove from the oven, allow to sit on the baking sheets for a minute or so, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies (I got quite a bit more than that, but I made them on the small side)