Some of my favorite flavor combinations mingle sweet with salty. And who can’t resist the delicious blend of salty peanut butter with sweet chocolate? Not me!

My peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are so easy to make and have just the right amount of both these wonderful flavors. I think that is why I love the combination so much.

They complement each other perfectly. Neither flavor overpowers the other. My husband, the cookie fiend, can’t resist them, so I always make a double batch and freeze a bunch for later.

Using a box of cake mix removes all the steps of measuring and adding a long list of ingredients. Plus it gives the cookies a light and cakey texture, which is perfect for dunking in milk or coffee.

Belle’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 box yellow cake mix.

1 cup chunky peanut butter.

2 eggs.

¼ cup water.

¼ cup butter, softened.

1 cup chocolate chips.

Mix the first five ingredients together by hand or in a stand mixer and then gently fold in the chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on an ungreased baking sheet. Using a fork, make a crisscross on the top of each cookie to flatten slightly before baking. Bake at 375 degrees for about 9 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Brenda Stanley is the mother of five children, including two sets of twins and a grandmother of seven. She is a cookbook author and novelist. For more recipes and information, visit her website www.talesofthedinnerbelle.com.