In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light. Stir in peanut butter, oil, and eggs; beat until smooth.
In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt until ingredients are well mixed.
While mixer is running on slow speed, gradually stir flour into butter/egg mixture. Finally add vanilla or rum.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Before baking, preheat oven to 375°F for 15 minutes.
Break off small chunks of dough and roll into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place onto an ungreased baking sheet and flatten each ball using the tines of a fork to form a criss-cross pattern. Sprinkle tops with coarse sugar.
Bake for about 9-10 minutes, checking in the last few minutes to make sure the cookies are not browning too quickly.
Makes 35-40 cookies.
Variation: Add 1/2 cup coarsely chopped peanuts or Macadamia nuts in along with the vanilla.
Submitted by: Belle
