Back to Basics

Baking Basics that is!  I was energized today because we had no cookies! WHAT? NO COOKIES! This is my mother's recipe and it is a "no fail" one. Nowhere does it say how much energy it would take this old lady to GIT 'ER DUN....

After getting the ingredients out and ready, "Big Red" was a great help with the mixing. From parchment paper over a 40+ year old cookie sheet to a finished stack of 60 tasty devils. 

Meanwhile, out on the ice were four men fishing at 8:30am. By the time the cookie project was finished there were seven. 

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RECIPE

Peanut Butter Cookies from Grandma's Recipe Collection

Sift together - 

2 C flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

Blend well before adding flour mixture -

1 C peanut butter

2 C brown sugar

1/2 C butter (1 stick) I said BUTTER!! (Don't melt!)

2 eggs

Add -

1 tsp pure vanilla

1/2 C whole milk 

Cool dough in refrigerator for a bit, then teaspoon 12 scoops to an ungreased cookie sheet. I don't press them into a ball and flatten with a sugared fork, because I don't feel it is necessary, but you can if you wish!

Bake - 350° oven 9-11 minutes depending on how crunchy you like them. The less time in the oven the chewier they are!

After baking, let them rest a bit before removing from sheet to paper bags. 

Makes about 4-5 dozen, depending on size.

Cookie Review

The cookies I baked yesterday are edible. They are tasty. They are DRY. I think young kids might not mind or even be put down by the texture but they are NOT CHEWY. 

WE LIKE CHEWY Peanut Butter Cookies!
So to make up to you, here is a REALLY GOOD CHEWY Recipe.
Guess it's better to do things the long way sometimes.

"Tried and true" best peanut butter cookies - EVER!
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Peanut Butter Cookies from My Grandma's Recipe Collection

My last batch made 2015

Sift together - 

2 C flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

Blend well before adding flour mixture -

1 C peanut butter

2 C brown sugar

1/2 C butter (1 stick) I said BUTTER!! (Don't melt!)

2 eggs

Add -

1 tsp pure vanilla

1/2 C whole milk 

Cool dough in refrigerator for a bit, then teaspoon 12 scoops to an ungreased cookie sheet. Sometimes I don't press them into a ball and flatten with a sugared fork, because I don't feel it is necessary, but you can if you wish!

Bake - 350° oven 9-11 minutes depending on how crunchy you like them. The less time in the oven the chewier they are!

After baking, let them rest a bit before removing from sheet to paper bags to cool; then later put into containers.

Makes about 4 dozen, depending on size.

Just Follow the Sugar Trail

I got it into my head this morning to go through my recipe boxes and throw away ones I don't use. There's no sense in keeping recipes if you don't ever use them, is there?

Oh! Oh! I found one for which I have the ingredients already on hand and I didn't have the heart to throw it away without trying it - at least once.

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I started out melting the butter and the peanut butter in a medium sized bowl. When it was totally smooth and hot, I tried to add the sugar. Wrong! The bowl wasn't large enough to enable me to stir it in. I had confectioner's sugar ALL OVER THE PLACE!

Messy me - I have to clean up my work area as I bake so it was a cleanup I did. Well, then the logical thing to do was to reheat the pb and b mixture with the unstirred white messy stuff on top because it has already cooled down. FIRST, it all had to be transferred to a larger bowl, so another mess was created. The stirring process was labor intensive for me - it took muscle. I don't have muscle.

The end result was a nice pan of fudge on the counter, cooling and ready to cut and EAT! EAT! I love peanut butter. I love candy. I'm glad you weren't there to see me.

Don't try it - it's too much work. I may throw away that recipe. After that workout I'm going to go and bag up my dried apples now to relax.

Peanut Butter Fudge:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups sifted powdered sugar

Line an 8-inch or 9-inch square pan with buttered waxed paper. (I used Release foil.)
Combine the peanut butter and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for about one minute. (It took more than one minute.)

Stir. It should be all melted now. You can also do this on the stovetop if you don’t like to use the microwave. (I figured that it would be easier to wash a bowl than a pot so I microwaved it.)

Stir in the vanilla, then the sifted powdered sugar. (Yes, make sure it all is in a large bowl and prepare to do a lot of stirring!)

Spread in the prepared pan.

Chill for about two hours then cut into one-inch squares. (Easy to say - one inch!)

All packed except for the crumbs. I won't share the crumbs.

Cakey Cookies

Yes, I said cakey. It's my word, meaning not crispy, not crunchy, not chewy,  CAKEY. We prefer chewy over cakey but I still have too much peanut butter on hand and a goodly supply of eggs and some energies that need to be dissipated.

I have made these several times in the past and the box cake mix was loitering in the cupboard just waiting to be used.  I'm not enthusiastic about cake making, but cookies are a different story. 

The yield is only 30 cookies so I know they won't be around for long. 

The "funny" thing is that the original old recipe calls for an 18.5 ounce box. Today when I read the label I saw it to to be ONLY 15.25 oz!!!! WHAT!!!!!

Recipe:  Cakey Cookies

1 package (box) yellow cake mix
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil or butter (I use butter)

2 eggs

2 tablespoons water

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Drop by large spoonful on ungreased cookie sheet. (I roll a gob in my hands and then place on sheet.)

350° for about 10 minutes. Let cool on tray before transferring to rack.

Cookie Time

I have 4 partial jars of peanut butter and need to use it so............

How the heck I got so much pb I don't know, but think I must have brought a couple of jars back from SC to be sure we had some! I have creamy, chunky and natural varieties and will mix them.

I also have 2 half full bags of light brown sugar! Although I much prefer to use dark brown the light will just have to suffice. I think I overbought the light for the past holiday baking projects.

The old recipe is one I have used for years and it always turns out just fine. If I want chewy cookies I bake them for 9 minutes. If I want crispy cookies, I bake them for 11 minutes. Yes, there is a real difference and I use a timer.

This is my lunch

This is my husband's lunch

Peanut Butter Cookies from Grandma's Recipe Collection

Sift together - 
2 C flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

Blend well before adding flour mixture -
1 C peanut butter
2 C brown sugar
1/2 C butter (1 stick) I said BUTTER!! (don't melt!)
2 eggs

Add -
1 tsp pure vanilla
1/2 C whole milk 

Cool dough in refrigerator for a bit, then teaspoon 12 scoops to an ungreased cookie sheet. I don't press them into a ball and flatten with a sugared fork, because I don't feel it is necessary.

Bake - 350° oven 9-11 minutes depending on how crunchy you like them.

After baking, let them rest a bit before removing from sheet to cool further on paper bags. 

Makes about 4 dozen, depending on size.