Peanut Butter Cookies

This week, taking a break from the Easter Extravaganza, we made Peanut Butter cookies! Yummy. I have always been fond of the little cross hatching the fork makes.

Peanut Butter Cookies
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Extra granulated sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 375.
Stir together flour, soda and salt.Set aside.
 In a mixer beat butter for 30 seconds. Add peanut butter and sugars; beat until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Beat well. Add dry ingredients and beat until well combined.
Shape dough into 1 inch balls; (medium cookie scoop). Roll in extra granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Make a criss cross pattern with the tines of a dinner fork.
Bake about 10 minutes.
Cool one minute before removing from baking sheet to wire rack.
Makes about 24 cookies.

Next week: Using left over milk chocolate!

Easter Egg Nests

Before going into the oven

I thought about not putting this one in. It did not turn out as well as I thought it should. The family says they are tasty. I will keep tweeking the recipe and post an update if I can get them to wear I want them.

Easter Egg Nest Cookies
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
2 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup of sugar
1 egg white
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 3/4 cup coconut, divided
little jelly beans

 Heat oven to 375
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Microwave butter and marshmallows at high 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until mixture is melted when stirred
Beat sugar, egg white, vanilla and almond extract. Add to melted butter mixture, beating well.
Gradually add reserved flour mixture, beat until well blended. Stir in two cups of coconut. If needed, chill dough until easy to handle (mine set up pretty fast)
Shape into 1inch balls. (I used the small cookie scoop) Roll balls in the remaining coconut. If you want to color it that is good. I dyed mine green
Place the cookie balls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press thumb in center of the balls.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cool completely on a wire rack.
 Place 3 jelly bean in each center. I glued mine in with icing
Makes about 40 cookies.

After baking and adding the jelly beans. hmm, not really nest like looking.
I did try to freeze them for 10 minutes before baking and it made no difference.
I will make these again, they are tasty, just not the look I wanted!

The First Cookie of the Week Blog!

I got a challenge today to start a cookie blog. Since I bake cookies every week, on Wednesdays.  This blog will be the recipes I use each week. I have a treasure trove of antique cookbooks that I am going through to experiment with the old recipes and there are some new ones. If I know where the recipe comes from I will tell you, but there are some that have just been in my recipe box forever. 
Today's cookie is a Lemon Ginger Crinkle



1 cup shortening

2 cups packed brown sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

3 teaspoons lemon zest

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tarter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ginger

granulated sugar

crystallized lemon juice (true lemon)

Preheat oven to  350

Mix shortening and brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Beat in lemon zest

In another bowl, mix all the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cream of tarter, salt and ginger) together well.

Roll into balls. I use a medium cookie scoop. Dip the tops into sugar. For a bigger lemon bite, I mix two packets of crystallized lemon juice with about 3/4 cup of sugar.

Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10 to 12 minutes. Using the medium cookie scoop it took 16 minutes

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

These cookies get even better the next day.

They also freeze and travel well.