Christmas Baking

Well, this will certainly be an adventure! It will be fun posting recipes, uploading photos, and learning more about blogging. I'm hoping to learn as I go. Linz (one of our daughters) is probably an old pro at this and can give me a hand. She is one of the administrators at a Clay Aiken message board ("Our Man Clay").

This weekend was spent getting started on my Christmas baking. Of course, it's a family tradition that the first batch be peanut butter cookies. This recipe has evolved over the years. The original recipe came from my mother-in-law, although I've made peanut butter cookies since I was a girl. I grew up with Skippy Peanut Butter. When I met my husband Bob, he introduced me to the WONDERFUL taste of JIF. Now THAT's what peanut butter should taste like - PEANUTS! I was served toast with Skippy a few years later, and it didn't taste like peanut butter at all.

Well, I digress, which is a common affliction for me. My mother-in-law gave me her recipe for the cookies over 20 years ago. So, for all this time, I've been making the same recipe, using a combination of butter and shortening and have been frustrated because the cookies were always too crisp. I experimented recently and tried using all margarine and I was finally able to achieve the perfect, soft cookie that had eluded me for all this time. A funny story - my husband knows my peanut butter cookies are crispy. The first time I used the margarine, Linz and I were baking together. So now, the new version is thought of as Linz's cookies. She and I share a secret smile when Bob asks Linz to make "her" peanut butter cookies.

Soft Peanut Butter Cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup margarine
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed, about 7 1/8 ounces by weight (I usually simplify it by using 8 ounces for every cup, which is a little more sugar than called for)
2 eggs
1 cup peanut butter (about 7-8 ounces by weight)
2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift flour with soda and salt and set aside.

Cream margarine, then cream with white sugar. Beat on medium speed of mixer. Add brown sugar. Add eggs, peanut butter and vanilla and beat until fluffy.

Refrigerate the dough for about 15 minutes to allow the gluten to rest.

Use a small ice cream scoop to make uniform-sized mounds of dough. Roll into 1-inch balls between palms until smooth and uniform in shape. Press down with a fork into criss-crosses on top to make cookie 1/4-inch high. Dip the fork in flour if it sticks to the dough.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, reversing cookie sheets halfway through. Let cool slightly then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Makes about 5 dozen.