Friday, June 17, 2016

Chef Tina Makes Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies



 What was your very first cookbook? This was mine. 



The page that demonstrates how to carve a turkey is the most well worn of any page in the book. Love those glossy pictures. Jello mold salads were another highlight of my first cook book! I am proud to say I never conquered Jello mold salads.









Another highlight is finding scraps of paper tucked inside.






 And this one! Love Ann Landers. Small print says the recipe was not passed on to her by her relatives, but was given to her by a New York cabbie. This paper is at least 30 years old.













From one of my old cookbooks comes a recipe for old-fashioned peanut butter cookies. This one is from Betty Crocker. These would be amazing updated with a thumbprint of Nutella added to the finished cookie. Note the dough has to be refrigerated first.

Ingredients

1/2     cup granulated sugar

1/2     cup packed brown sugar

1/2     cup peanut butter

1/4    cup shortening

1/4     cup butter or margarine, softened

1     egg

1 1/4   cups all-purpose flour

3/4     teaspoon baking soda

1/2     teaspoon baking powder

1/4     teaspoon salt


Directions

    1 Mix sugars, peanut butter, shortening, butter and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm.


    2 Heat oven to 375ºF.


    3 Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped into sugar.


    4 Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.


I like my oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies soft. Everyone knows the trick to this right? Slip a small slice of apple into the container or dish with the cookies. 






I always have a Perfect Beaker on hand. It's the best tool for measuring.













Let's eat! What your favorite go-to, quick and easy cookie?








Tina Radcliffe is a two-time Golden Heart finalist, a two-time Carol Award finalist and a 2014 Carol Award winner. Her 2015 release, Safe in the Fireman's Arms, is a Holt Medallion finalist and a Bookseller's Best Award finalist. She eats copies amounts of cookies from her hot home in Arizona.


22 comments:

  1. I'm here to say, I want those cookies. Now. Immediately if not sooner.

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  2. My mother had a dog-eared 1959 Betty Crocker cookbook that I loved. When she passed away, my brother got the cookbook.... he loved to cook, and that was fine, but the very year I got my first contracts for books (Thank you, Love Inspired!!!) Betty Crocker re-issued that book on its 50th anniversary!

    I now own a brand new copy, I have my old faves, and some new ones, but I will always treasure this book because it was my first excursion into the kitchen... And many #KitchenFails later, I still love to experiment!

    And Tina, your measuring beaker is gorgeous! Beth would love it. I tend to go by sight and taste, so "about" a half-cup is always as good as a measure here, but Beth would be all over that mode of measure!

    Clearly great minds think alike!

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  3. That's my second beaker. Don't put it in the dishwasher too often or the words wash away. I love it. Love it.

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  4. Tina, I don't care if they're old fashioned or new fashioned, I LOVE peanut butter cookies. And now I'm craving them.

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  5. These are really chewy too. Really chewy. I love mine that way.

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  6. I love peanut butter cookies!

    And I have that same BH&G cookbook from the '80's. That's NINETEEN eighties, not EIGHTEEN eighties!

    I need to make these. My family has been complaining about the lack of cookies since Carrie got busy with her fiance, wedding planning, and has now moved out to live with this husband of hers. Seems like she could have stocked the freezer before she left, don't you think?

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    Replies
    1. Mine is from the seventies. LOL. 1975.

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  7. What was she thinking. And I never thought to freeze these cookies. That way I am not cookie on hot days. Brilliant idea, Jan!

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  8. I love old-fashioned peanut butter cookies! I haven't made any in a long time...=)

    I have a paperback copy of the Better Homes and Garden cookbook. ( I'm not sure of the issue date though )
    I love old cookbooks!

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    Replies
    1. I love them too. I have way too many cook books for someone with an empty nest!!!

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  9. Sure wish you'd provided some free samples with today's recipe. Real free samples. The kind that fill my mouth with peanut butter flavor and make me forget all about wearing shorts this summer. The best thing about freezing cookies is that with most of them you can eat them frozen :-)
    My go-to quick cookie is a sugar cookie dough you roll into balls and then roll in a cinnamon-sugar recipe. If I'm feeling particularly chef-y, I press a pecan half into the top.
    Oh my gosh I have such a craving for peanut butter cookies now.
    Nancy C

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    Replies
    1. I made these for this post and I don't dare make them again. They are really good. But yours sound good too.

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  10. P.S. If you don't have apple to soften the cookies, a slice or two of really fresh bread will also do the trick. Unless you're someone who cringes at the thought of wasting even the smallest amount of bread ;-)
    Nancy C

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    Replies
    1. This is good to know. Thank you.

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  11. Oh, want to make these and put a Hershey's kiss in the middle when they come out of the oven! I never have Crisco around though...do you think I could replace it with butter or would that mess with the consistency?

    I still have a bedraggled Five Roses cookbook that belonged to my mum. It's very much like the Betty Crocker only no pretty pictures but it has absolutely everything you need to know about anything to do with food as well as those traditional fifties type recipes. And yes, I think there might be a section dedicated to jello concoctions. LOL

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    Replies
    1. Kav, this recipe is no butter or Crisco.

      http://allrecipes.com/recipe/11352/three-ingredient-peanut-butter-cookies/

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  12. Good question on the butter only. I have no idea.

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  13. Tina! Secret sisterhood strikes again! This is the recipe I use too! My Betty Crocker cook book was a wedding present back in the day, 1970's. I've never used the shortening though, used to use margarine before I knew better, but for the last 15 or so years I've used all butter, works fine for me. My sister actually gets sulky when she visits from Florida and I haven't made her any, lol. I'm just back from a trip, but had to stop by and see what was cooking in the kitchen, now I have to go check and see if I have enough ingredients, thanks a lot ;)

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    1. Oh and I forgot to say, when the three kidos still lived at home I ALWAYS had to double the recipe and that worked fine too.

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    2. Kav, did you hear what Tracey said. All butter is good.

      It's an amazing recipe. I have held back all day from making them. I doubled the recipe last time I made them and my husband and I ate them all. ALL!!!

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  14. Changing my mind about dessert tonight. Was going to have sugarless gum, but now I'm thinking cookies. As some of my friends would say: "You done flung a craving on me." :-)

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    Replies
    1. LOLOL. The evil chef strikes again!!!!

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