Peanut Butter Cookies…come to Mama!
It just doesn’t get easier (or yummier) than peanut butter cookies. I’ve tried a lot of recipes, with mixed results. My absolute favorite recipe is, of course, the one that is the least healthy. Sigh.
Even though I post a lot of sinfully-bad-for-you recipes on my blog, in my “real” life, (as opposed to my make-believe alter ego blog life) I try to make good food decisions to offset my frequent occasional indulgences. I believe strongly in buying organic whenever possible, and I grow a lot of my own fruits, vegetables, and grains. But frankly, a green salad topped with slices of chicken breast is probably not going to get a lot of Pinterest hits! And we all love baking porn, right?
I love to use fresh ingredients like milk, cream, and butter, and I try to stay away from shortening, knowing it is really, really not good for you. But…there are a few things that just demand the use of Crisco: pie crusts, biscuits, and…peanut butter cookies.
Shortening makes these cookies very light and crispy. Nothing is worse to me than a heavy, chewy peanut butter cookie. I’d rather make these twice a year and have them melt in my mouth than compromise. (Yes, I know how weird that sounds, thinking of butter as a “compromise”!) Here’s the recipe for you – see if you don’t agree!
| Peanut Butter Cookies | Print |
- 1 cup shortening
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 3 eggs
- 3 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
- Heat oven to 375 F
- Mix together shortening, peanut butter, vanilla, white sugar, and brown sugar.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating between each egg.
- Stir in the dry ingredients.
- Roll into small balls (or use a scoop - it's a lot easier!) and "criss cross" them with a fork to flatten them.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, just until lightly browned. Cool on a rack.
Mixed cookie dough should be light and fluffy!
Put balls of dough 1″ apart and “criss cross” them with a fork to flatten.
Trade a nice cup of green tea for your double white chocolate mocha, and have a couple of cookies with it. See? It’s all about tradeoffs.