My husband wanted peanut butter cookies, so I thought I'd give this recipe a try. Wow, these cookies are so delicious -- soft, peanut-buttery, and chocolatey! I used an entire cup of all-natural peanut butter and chopped up some mini Snickers bars to use in place of chocolate chips since I didn't have any in the pantry. (I can envision using mini Reese's Pieces or white chocolate chips in this recipe, too). Instead of doing these as drop cookies, I rolled the dough into balls and pressed them gently with a fork to create the traditional peanut butter cookie appearance.

Reviewed On: Oct. 12, 2009

If you love the taste of almonds, these will blow you away! I love them. We dust ours with a little powdered sugar for a "snow covered" look.

Reviewed On: Aug. 12, 2008

I made a few changes that others suggested, including substituting 1 C of oil for the shortening and increasing the sugar to 2 C. I also used 5 (yes, 5!) tbsp. of cocoa for an extra-chocolatey flavor. I experienced the same problem another reviewer had with the baking time: after 30 minutes in the oven at 350, the center of the cake was only starting to cook. I noticed that another reviewer cooked hers for 50 minutes, so I increased the time and crossed my fingers. The result? After 45 minutes only the outer part was done, so I covered the pan with foil to prevent burning and put it in for another 15. I'm not sure what would cause this problem; I'm not a very experienced baker but I usually don't have this issue with other recipes (or store-bought mixes). A bit confusing there. Also, I'm not sure what the frosting debate is all about...it must be regional preference whether to put one kind or another on the finished cake. Just go with what YOU like! Myself, I didn't use the recipe that went with the cake, and rather, used a store-bought kind (buttercream) as a time-saver. The flavor was intense, chocolatey, and delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I'm not certain I'd make this recipe again due to the mediocre results I had this time with so much effort. Four stars for great flavor but unreliable results...

Reviewed On: Apr. 6, 2008