Grandma’s Peanut Butter Cookies
As kids, my sister and I used to make a beeline for the homemaker competitions at the Hawaii County Fair because mom’s sewing and crafts often captured blue ribbons. One year, she won a prize package that included the Woman’s Home Companion Cookbook.
A recipe from that book for Grandma’s Peanut Butter Cookies is still a favorite and making it reminds me of mom. Now I’m teaching the third generation to bake this recipe.
Peanut butter cookies is a good project to start a young child baking because the recipe isn’t fussy, like rolled cookies. Still, it’s interactive since kids can make the cookie balls and flatten them with a fork in the traditional cross-hatch pattern. If children have a peanut allergy, you can find another type of soft cookie dough to substitute.
A Word of Caution about Raw Dough
Licking the spoon is the best reward for your little baker, but be sure to give them the spoon before eggs and flour have been added to the batter, for food safety reasons. Raw flour can contain E.coli, and raw eggs, salmonella. (I know we all ate raw cookie dough as kids and lived to tell the tale, but it’s no longer a good idea today.)
For another kids’ kitchen project, make deviled eggs.
Grandma’s Peanut Butter Cookies
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, well beaten
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together peanut butter, shortening and butter; gradually add the sugars and cream thoroughly. Add the egg and blend.
Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and mix well. Chill dough for 1 to 2 hours to firm up.
Heat oven to 375°F. Form dough into balls 1 inch in diameter and place on ungreased cookie sheets about 3 inches apart. Flatten the balls with a fork dipped in flour, making a crisscross pattern.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on pan for 5 minutes, then using an egg turner, gently remove cookies from the sheet and cool completely on wire racks. Store airtight.
Makes 3 ½ dozen cookies
Recipe adapted from the Woman’s Home Companion Cook Book, P.F. Collier & Son Corporation (c. 1955)
With a Little Help from Grandma
While we want to give kids a sense of independence and to have confidence in their abilities, we also need to ensure that the cookies turn out well. So, once the child has finished (and preferably when they’re not looking), go back over the cookies, squishing together any parts that are broken, and evening out parts that too thick or too thin.
What Kids Learn from this Activity
- Confidence in the kitchen
- How to measure dry and liquid ingredients
- Dexterity skills in shaping the cookies–they should aim to make similar size balls and flatten cookies evenly
- Patience in waiting for cookies to bake and cool
- Learning limits–I never give them more than two cookies; the rest is packed for them to take home and enjoy later
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