Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies

Last night, when I was rummaging through my cupboards, I realized that I had some leftover peanut butter from when I made one of my favorite treats, No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies. After discovering this great find, I knew that I had to bake some old-fashioned peanut butter cookies.

These cookies are so petite and peanut buttery...you are going to love them! Oh, and don't forget to add the extra touch of tradition! What is that, you ask? Use a fork to make the criss-cross pattern, of course! By the way, do you know how that tradition started?

Some people think that the criss-cross marks are a warning. Others think that the criss-cross marks have a religious undertone. Another reason might be that, because a lot of people suffer from nut allergies, the criss-cross marks let people know that there is a nut ingredient within the cookies.

A baker's reasoning might be that, by using a fork to make criss-cross marks on the balls of dough, it flattens the dough so that it will allow the cookies to bake evenly. Plus, this dough can be a bit crumbly by nature so pressing down on the balls of dough with a fork helps hold it together.

Which one do you think has some truth behind it? 

Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
• 2  eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the butter, sugars and peanut butter.
3. Add eggs, flour, baking soda and vanilla extract.
4. Place teaspoon-size balls of dough on a prepared cookie sheet. Flatten balls by pressing down on them with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Just be careful on the baking time...these little guys cook fast and there's nothing worse than a rock-hard peanut butter cookie!

What's your favorite recipe to make when you have some extra peanut butter lying around?

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