At Charly's request, I am revealing recipes for two basic cookies: real peanut butter cookies and real peanut butter and oatmeal cookies. These recipes are so simple that a child, or even a husband can make mouth watering cookies.
For both of these recipes, you can line the cookie sheet with baking parchment, but that really is not necessary, since the oily peanut butter prevents sticking.
1. Real Peanut Butter Cookies
Flour is cheaper than peanut butter, so most store-bought peanut butter cookies are flour cookies flavored with peanut butter. The real thing does not use flour or baking powder. The peanut butter supplies its own oil. The most fabulous experience of baking these is the aroma that fills the kitchen while you are mixing the peanut butter and vanilla.
Ingredients:
2. Real Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Cookies
Sneak a dose of natural oats into your diet. You can make these without peanut butter, by just increasing the amount of butter or margarine. I don't add the traditional spices, like cinnamon, but some may like that.
Ingredients:
For both of these recipes, you can line the cookie sheet with baking parchment, but that really is not necessary, since the oily peanut butter prevents sticking.
1. Real Peanut Butter Cookies
Flour is cheaper than peanut butter, so most store-bought peanut butter cookies are flour cookies flavored with peanut butter. The real thing does not use flour or baking powder. The peanut butter supplies its own oil. The most fabulous experience of baking these is the aroma that fills the kitchen while you are mixing the peanut butter and vanilla.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
- 1 cup sugar (can be a mix of white and brown, or even baker's sucralose [Splenda])
- 1 raw egg
- 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pre-heat oven to 325°F.
- Blend all the ingredients with a sturdy spoon.
- Spoon ~1" balls of batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet, about 1" apart. Flatten slightly with a fork, to make crisscross pattern--the universal identifier of peanut butter cookies.
- Bake for 15 to 30 minutes (depending on your oven and how crumbly you want them). Watch for a slight golden brown color change (It's subtle). As you bake longer, the cookies will progress from a chewy cookie to a "peanut sandy". It's really hard to burn these things.
- Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for a minute or two, then remove to a wire rack until fully cooled.
2. Real Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Cookies
Sneak a dose of natural oats into your diet. You can make these without peanut butter, by just increasing the amount of butter or margarine. I don't add the traditional spices, like cinnamon, but some may like that.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
- 1/4 cup butter or margarine
- 1 cup uncooked oats (can be "old fashioned" or "quick"; it doesn't matter, since they will be baked in peanut oil and butter.)
- 1 cup sugar (can be a mix of white and brown, or even baker's sucralose [Splenda])
- 1 raw egg
- 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- Pre-heat oven to 325°F.
- Blend all the ingredients with a sturdy spoon. This may take 5 minutes of effort.
- Spoon ~1" balls of batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet, about 1" apart. Flatten slightly. It's forbidden to put a crisscross pattern on oatmeal cookies! You just don't do that.
- Bake for 15 to 30 minutes (depending on your oven and how crumbly you want them). Watch for a slight browning of exposed oat edges.
- Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for a minute or two, then remove to a wire rack until fully cooled.