plate of peanut butter cookies

Delicious old fashioned peanut butter cookies. Nothing better than that heavenly aroma when you came home from school, unless it was biting into a warm, chewy cookie! Yum! As I was going through my recipe book the other day, I came across my mom’s recipe for these classic peanut butter cookies and just knew I had to make them.  

Why had I waited so long?  

She died when I was a teen, but, man, she was an awesome baker. And I am so grateful that she wrote down many of her recipes.

A lot of them, she didn’t, though.  

She was one of those “a pinch of this,” “a dab of that” kind of cooks who didn’t always use a recipe, but just had an instinct of what and how much to combine. She made the BEST potato salad without a recipe, for example, but neither my older sisters nor I can replicate it.

Do you know anyone like that?  Let me just say I am in total awe of you if you are one of those cooks!

Maybe it’s because I’m a librarian and organizer who must have everything in order, that my mind just doesn’t work that way in cooking. 🙂  Which is why I am so glad she had a written recipe for these classic cookies!  And they are really simple to make.

Of course, if you are reading this, you like peanut butter cookies, too.  So, you probably understand when I say the most important ingredient of all in making classic old fashioned peanut butter cookies is to use a fork to make that criss cross pattern on the top of the cookies! THAT, my friend, is the pièce de résistance, don’t you agree?

Ingredients

Old fashioned peanut butter cookies. Nothing better than that heavenly aroma when you came home from school, unless it was biting into a warm, chewy cookie. Yum!

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1 1/4 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 stick or 1/2 c. oleo

1 egg

1/2 c. peanut butter (My mom used Skippy.  I use Jiff)

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

extra sugar to roll the cookies in



Directions

Preheat oven to 375°.

Mix the dry ingredients together (flour, salt, baking soda, and sugars).

Old fashioned peanut butter cookies. Nothing better than that heavenly aroma when you came home from school, unless it was biting into a warm, chewy cookie. Yum!

Add in the wet ingredients (peanut butter, oleo, egg, and vanilla).

Old fashioned peanut butter cookies. Nothing better than that heavenly aroma when you came home from school, unless it was biting into a warm, chewy cookie. Yum!

Stir to combine using a spoon.

Old fashioned peanut butter cookies. Nothing better than that heavenly aroma when you came home from school, unless it was biting into a warm, chewy cookie. Yum!

Thoroughly mix the dough. I prefer using my scrupulously clean hands.  It gives me more control so I can make sure all the ingredients are incorporated and the dough is smooth.  (And, besides, that’s how my mom did it.)

Old fashioned peanut butter cookies. Nothing better than that heavenly aroma when you came home from school, unless it was biting into a warm, chewy cookie. Yum!

Here’s what it should look like when thoroughly mixed.

Old fashioned peanut butter cookies. Nothing better than that heavenly aroma when you came home from school, unless it was biting into a warm, chewy cookie. Yum!

Roll the dough into 1 inch balls. You can just eye-ball the measurements or use a 1″ cookie scoop.

Old fashioned peanut butter cookies. Nothing better than that heavenly aroma when you came home from school, unless it was biting into a warm, chewy cookie. Yum!

Drop each ball of dough into a small bowl of sugar.  Roll the ball in the sugar until it is completely covered.

Old fashioned peanut butter cookies. Nothing better than that heavenly aroma when you came home from school, unless it was biting into a warm, chewy cookie. Yum!

Place the balls about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Use a flat-bottomed drinking glass to gently flatten the balls.  (By the way, these are the glasses I inherited after my dad died 20 years ago.  I’ve had these my whole life and now my teens think they are the perfect size for a big glass of milk, too!)

Old fashioned peanut butter cookies. Nothing better than that heavenly aroma when you came home from school, unless it was biting into a warm, chewy cookie. Yum!

(Gently. You’re not smushing a cockroach here!)

Old fashioned peanut butter cookies. Nothing better than that heavenly aroma when you came home from school, unless it was biting into a warm, chewy cookie. Yum!

And now for the best part! Use a fork to make a criss cross pattern on the top of each cookie.

Old fashioned peanut butter cookies. Nothing better than that heavenly aroma when you came home from school, unless it was biting into a warm, chewy cookie. Yum!

Ta da!

Old fashioned peanut butter cookies. Nothing better than that heavenly aroma when you came home from school, unless it was biting into a warm, chewy cookie. Yum!

Bake in a pre-heated oven for 8 – 10 minutes, depending on how you like your cookies.  If you like them soft and chewy, bake them for 8 minutes or until they just begin to brown.  If you like them crunchier, leave them in for 10 minutes or until they are evenly browned.

Old fashioned peanut butter cookies. Nothing better than that heavenly aroma when you came home from school, unless it was biting into a warm, chewy cookie. Yum!

Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet before transferring to waxed paper.

Store in an airtight container.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Old fashioned peanut butter cookies – PRINTABLE RECIPE

Warm from the oven old fashioned peanut butter cookies! Yum!

Old fashioned peanut butter cookies. Nothing better than that heavenly aroma when you came home from school, unless it was biting into a warm, chewy cookie. Yum!

I hope these bring back terrific memories of days gone by for you, too! Is there another kind of cookie your mom or grandma made that does the same? I’d love to know!

Here is another of my favorite family recipes, a decadent moist cake that has a crunchy topping of brown sugar & nuts, but the surprise ingredient is a can of fruit cocktail! Before you say, “Ewww,” trust me, it is delicious!  Click here for the recipe: Fruit cocktail cake: a vintage dessert that will wow your guests.

Wow your guests with this decadent vintage dessert that has a crunchy topping of brown sugar & nuts, but the surprise ingredient is a can of fruit cocktail!

Happy memories!

~ Pam

P.S. Looking for some other yummy desserts? Fill out the form below to get a free downloadable copy of recipes for my 10 favorite easy desserts!

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