If given a choice between a crunchy cookie and a chewy cookie, I will pick the chewy cookie every single time. But these aren’t just any crunchy cookies. These are my great-grandmother’s prize-winning Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies!
That’s right these two-bite, crunchy cookies won the Clark County Fair in Virginia where cookies are without a doubt serious business.
Remember how I told you that RoRo, my great-grandmother, would send home each relative home with his or her favorite treat? Well, accordingly, she would always send us home with a container full of these Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies for my dad along with Pecan Tassies for me and Pinwheel Cookies for my mom.
But this post isn’t really about the cookies, even though they are amazing. This post is about the man who loves these cookies.
My Dad is an inspiration. I don’t say it enough but today seemed like the perfect time to let him know just how influential he has been in my life. His achievement is part of what drives me forward. I feel driven to be better, to be more successful, to be a better person and to someday achieve greatness.
I don’t think he would be super happy if I shared specifics, so today I will speak in generalities and you will just have to trust me. My Dad came from a small town. He got his first job at 8 years old and has never let his determination flag since.
It is from his example that I have learned what it takes to be successful. I know I need determination, perseverance, sacrifice, intelligence, and hard work. I am lucky to have such a man for a father. Lucky.
Back to the cookies! I know that’s why you’re here!
If the fact that these Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies are award-winning isn’t enough to convince you of their superiority, you should know that they are a sweet, traditional peanut butter cookie that is crispy but not dry. Each bite is full of peanut butter flavor and will have you reaching for the next before your better judgment has time to object!
Like my father, the awards these cookies have won and my descriptions don’t even begin to do them justice. You’ll just have to trust me. 🙂
Happy Father’s Day, Dad! I love you.
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RoRo’s Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 96 small cookies 1x
Description
My Great-Grandmother’s award winning, Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies are a sweet, traditional peanut butter cookie that is crispy but not dry. Each bite is full of peanut butter flavor and will have you reaching for the next before your better judgment has time to object!
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and line two baking sheets with parchment.
- Sift together flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugars until combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until light and creamy.
- Reduced the speed to low and mix in the peanut butter.
- In several additions add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture until incorporated and smooth.
- Drop dough by the teaspoon (the actual spoon, not the measuring spoon) onto a baking sheet spaced about an inch apart. Dip the tines of a fork into granulated sugar and press them into each cookie twice in a crisscross pattern flattening the dough, dipping the fork into the sugar between each cookie.
- Bake 10 minutes in preheated oven. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. I only bake one sheet at a time, but you do as you wish.
Notes
My great-grandmother pressed the cookie down as it hit the baking sheet and, as a result, each cookie was different in a rugged way. If you want prettier cookies, you can roll the dough into a ball prior to crisscrossing with a fork.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
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32 Comments
Liz
June 15, 2014 at 10:01 pmWhat a lovely tribute to your dad. I think I’d become a huge fan of these cookies, too, with just one nibble. I’m overdue to bake up some pb cookies…and these have certainly stood up to the test of time!
Lindsey
June 15, 2014 at 11:00 pmThanks, Liz! These definitely have longevity on their side! I love baking heirloom recipes!
dina
June 16, 2014 at 12:24 pmthey do look addicting!
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl
June 16, 2014 at 7:41 pmLook at your pictures, total swoon worthy! I am craving a few of these cookies right now!
Lindsey
June 17, 2014 at 9:58 am{blush} Thanks, Pamela! I can warn you from experience that just a few won’t do!!
Lindsay @ Life, Love and Sugar
June 16, 2014 at 10:34 pmThe cookies look great! Sounds like your dad is a great guy! And I love the new theme – looks awesome! 🙂
Lindsey
June 17, 2014 at 9:57 amThanks, Lindsay!! So far I’m loving the new theme too!
Sophia
June 17, 2014 at 5:56 amYour Dad sounds like an amazing man. And these cookies look super yummy. I really want some:)
Lindsey
June 17, 2014 at 9:53 amHe is 🙂 These cookies could have used some Sophia staging and photography to give them that Old World feel.
Sophia
June 17, 2014 at 10:38 amnot at all they are perfect, so perfect I want to lick my screen just to get a taste.
Lindsey
June 17, 2014 at 11:07 amThanks, Sophia! That method is not recommended 😉
Sophia
June 17, 2014 at 9:30 pmlol, no I’m sure it wouldn’t taste half as good as the real thing.
Sophia
June 17, 2014 at 6:00 amha ha ha I just realized we have the same theme, great minds think alike. Are you finding really easy to use. I love it. After all the trouble I had, I have found it great and really easy to use.
Lindsey
June 17, 2014 at 9:52 amSo we do! I’ve only had it for 3 days, so I am very new! So far I am loving it!
Cindy @ Pick Fresh Foods
June 17, 2014 at 10:15 pmLindsey, this is such a sweet tribute to your Dad. I too am a huge fan of chewy cookies. These peanut butter cookies look delicious!
Lindsey
June 17, 2014 at 11:44 pmThanks, Cindy!
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Karen
June 20, 2014 at 6:44 pmThis looks like a great recipe, and I’ll be making them soon. I like to add about a cup of finely chopped peanuts to my PB cookies – I wonder if that will work? Oh, and I eliminate the fork issues by using a potato masher. With a light touch. It works great. Thanks for the good recipe.
Lindsey
June 20, 2014 at 10:55 pmI hope you do! I bet that would be great with the chopped peanuts! One of my Aunts just told me that RoRo used to add butterscotch chips sometimes! Just make sure you dip the potato masher in sugar it’s what makes these the best!! Or you could probably sprinkle some on top afterwards.
Karen
June 20, 2014 at 11:20 pmI always use a standard scoop, form the dough into a ball, then roll them in sugar. And yes, the potato masher also needs to be dipped in sugar. Peanut butter-butterscotch does sound good!
Lindsey
June 21, 2014 at 3:20 pmOh that does sounds delicious! I love a cookie rolled in sugar! The potato masher is a great idea!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress)
June 20, 2014 at 9:51 pmaaaawwww!! I love the love letter to your dad 🙂 And HOW ADORABLE that you made your great grandma’s award winning cookies! I totally get it-they look so amazingly delicious and perfect and I would not be able to stop eating them!
Lindsey
June 20, 2014 at 10:55 pmThanks, Kayle! They are trouble to keep around! RoRo used to keep them in the freezer, which, upon second thought, would probably have been smart!
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LouAnn
January 3, 2016 at 12:31 pmThank you for the recipes, can’t wait to make some of them.
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Ruth
April 14, 2018 at 3:32 pmall your wonderful pictures are making my mouth water. I love the stories of your cherished family members. What a great tribute to them!
I lost my grandfather’s peanut butter cooke recipe and I’d bet your great grandma RoRo’s recipe is the same as his was. Thank you for sharing this.I’ll be making these for my dh who loves pb cookies.
Lindsey
April 17, 2018 at 4:00 pmI bet it is, Ruth! Thank you so much for the kind words! Happy baking!