Nothing says back to school like a stack of homemade peanut butter cookies
I’m sure there are more iconic reminders than PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES of the dreaded end of summer, but on this dreary torrential down pour of a day, baking these cookies, reminds me of when the girls were little and how I hated sending them back to school. For two glorious months, they were free of the pressures of their young lives; free from friend drama, school work, whatever extracurricular stuff they were into, free to forget to brush their hair. They could read for hours, swim until they were shriveled, and best of all play make-believe. Maybe because they were the same age and there’s strength in numbers, I don’t know, but they loved being whatever age they were and playing together. Inevitably, every year their idyllic, magical summer days came to a crashing halt when I made PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES for their lunch boxes.
Many years ago, Kaitie asked me, “where does the summer go, Mom?”
“To sleep, Sweetheart. To rest til you have time again to play.”
I didn’t realize at the time how those words would install a lifetime internal clock in her. When I spoke to Kaitie yesterday I asked her how she was planning on spending her Sunday.
She said, “I don’t know what it is Mom, but now that summer is winding down I find it hard to relax. I just want to get on with it!”
Hence my need to bake PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES. XO
PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
- 2 large eggs
- granulated sugar for rolling the dough balls
THE STEPS:
- Preheat oven to 350˚F.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
- In an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the softened butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
- Add peanut butter and beat until the batter is well mixed and smooth.
- Add eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl down after each addition.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add dry ingredients until well mixed.
- Form the dough into 1 tablespoon round balls.
- Roll each of ball in a bowl of granulated sugar before placing on the baking sheet.
- Press each dough ball with a fork to flatten, being sure that each dough ball is at least 2 inches apart. Some cooks like to do a hatch cross design, but I find it flattens out the cookie too much. You decided.
- Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the centers are slightly puffy.
- Remove from the oven, and transfer to a cooling rack to cool.
- Serve warm with a big glass of cold milk.
THE LOVE: Whenever I bake cookies, I always do a time tester with one. I start light then keep adding 2 minutes at a time until the cookie is perfectly golden. Seems tedious, but saves you wrecking a tray of potentially delicious cookies!
Thanks for reading.
