It’s no secret that one of the big reasons I am so warmly welcomed at our hunting camp is because of the cookies and bars I bring. The fact that I’ve outshot the guys on more than one occasion makes me a valued member of our hunting party but they don’t exactly like when I rub it in ;). So today we’ll focus on the treats. Today also happens to be my Uncle Jake’s birthday – and I still remember after bringing homemade bars to the very first season in North Dakota at his ‘farm’ that he told me I could only come back if I brought more– I figured it would be a good day to post his favorite cookie, Peanut Butter!
Peanut butter cookies are a classic and I use a classic recipe straight out of my trusty Betty Crocker Big Red cookbook (#EarnsCommission). One requirement for these cookies is the crisscross marks over the top – they just taste better with the marks – ok maybe they don’t really taste better but they prove they are homemade as I almost never see grocery store peanut butter cookies with the crisscross.
Here’s what you need:
We’re going to start to start out like most cookie recipes by creaming together the fat and the sugar. In this case that includes peanut butter along with butter and shortening.
Turn on your mixer, walk away and let it do its thing until the mixture is nice and fluffy. Then beat in an egg. And finally your dry ingredients which are flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Shape the dough into about 1 ¼ inch balls, I found my 2 tsp cookie scoop (#EarnsCommission) worked perfect for this. Place onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and then it’s time to make the crisscross marks. Pour a couple tablespoons of granulated sugar onto a small plate. Dip a fork into the sugar and flatten the cookies in a crisscross pattern.
Bake the cookies in a 375 degree oven for 9 to 10 minutes until lightly golden, or longer if you like them crispy.
Cook on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes.
Move to a wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container.
- ½ c sugar
- ½ c brown sugar
- ½ c peanut butter
- ¼ c shortening
- ¼ c butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 ¼ c flour
- ¾ t baking soda
- ½ t baking powder
- ¼ t salt
- 2 T granulated sugar
- Preheat an oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream together sugars, peanut butter, shortening and butter on medium-high heat until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
- Stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Shape the dough into 1-1/4 inch balls. A 2 tsp cookie scoop will yield the perfect size cookies.
- Place the balls on the parchment lined cookie sheets.
- Pour the remaining 2 T sugar to a small plate. Dip the tines of a fork in the sugar and flatten the cookies in a crosscross pattern, re-dipping in the sugar between each cookie.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes until lightly golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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