3/4 cup Peanut Butter (crunchy is best)
1/2 cup Butter, room temperature
1/2 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
1 1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
Directions:
- In a large bowl, combine Butter, Peanut Butter, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Egg, and Vanilla, mixing well.
- Slowly add the Flour, Salt, Baking Powder, and Baking Soda, mixing completely with the wet mixture.
- Chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the Oven to 375ºF.
- Form 3/4″ balls and place on greased cookie sheet 2″ apart.
- Using a fork, press each ball down forming parallel line indentations. Press perpendicularly, creating a criss-cross design.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until the cookie begins to lightly brown on the edges.
Makes about 2 dozen
NOTES: Use some additional flour and dab the fork in it before pressing the cookies down to reduce the dough sticking to the fork. If using a non-stick cookie sheet, position the rack a level above mid-way to prevent burning.
These cookies are truly American, and some of the first recipes were developed by George Washington Carver in the 1910s. The criss-cross design that is customary for peanut butter cookies was first seen in the Pilsbury cookbook of 1923. The reasoning behind the design is unknown.
I think these were probably one of the first cookies I remember making with my mother. The memory has to be from when I was about 4 years old or so, when we lived in Ashtabula, Ohio. I also have fond memories making them when I was probably 7 or 8 with my Great Grandma Flynn at her home near Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio.
For Your Enrichment:
Cookies
Peanut Butter