Pearl's Peanut Cookies

NOTE: Pearl was our next door neighbor for a number of years. Fun fact: Her husband did pipe organ tuning and repair.

I can't recall that she was much of a baker but somehow my Mom obtained this recipe and it has 

stuck with me over the years, namely because it uses redskin peanuts. Despite it sounding a little unusual, its worth getting this particular type of peanut although in a pinch you could use the regular kind. Slightly chopped. 

 

 Pearl Legge's Peanut cookies 

 1/2 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg, a bit of salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup peanuts with husks

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup AP flour

1/2 cup corn flakes

Mix as for drop cookies. Add nuts last and bake at 350F for 10 min.

 

NOTE: I found these a bit crumbly last time I made them, maybe add a tbsp of milk or slightly reduce the add ins.  

Christmas Baking 2021

•  Last year, I didn't bake a single cookie. This year seemed more promising with some small gatherings planned but now with another variant circulating, maybe there will be some more cancellations. On the plus side, I was able to have my neighbours over for a short Open House and I think they all enjoyed getting together as we are a very diverse neighbourhood. Anyway, I digress. 

 

Here is the list of cookies that I made this year (almost all of them tried and true favourites and most of the recipes can be found on this blog....

• Nainamo bars
• Pink ladies
• Butterscotch Marshmallow squares
• Chipit Cherry Jewel bars
• Peanut Butter Blossoms
• Traditional Shortbread
• Peanut Butter Balls 
• Mennonite Shortbread (iced)
  
• Almond Tree cookies (a rare fail, they were too thick for the Cookie press)
• Mini Chip Shortbread
• Whipped Shortbread 
• Caramilk cookies
  

I exchanged some shortbread for some date balls with a friend of mine to round out the lineup.

I might still roll out some sugar cookies to use up my leftover buttercream frosting. Merry Christmas everyone!
 

Peanut Brittle Cookies

I've been avoiding the blog so I don't have to update my May goals and really I have no goals for June. How bad is that? Seem to be busy with all the yard work, trimming, putting in the garden, aftermath of big tree removal (mulch spreading etc). But not too busy to make these cookies. I've made them before but never posted the recipe. I made a few changes also so I wanted to try it one more time. And AM I glad I did. Such a delicious combination.

 

Peanut Brittle Cookies
1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda and salt
1/2 cup Skor bits
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup peanuts ( I used salted and left them whole but you could roughly chop)

Mix first 4 ingredients. Add dry ingredients and then mix in add ins.
Back at 350F for 10 min. You could melt and drizzle peanut butter chips over the baked cookies for extra decadence.

KISSES Hot Cocoa Cookies

It's been so long since I logged onto the Blog, I almost forgot my password. There always seems to be something more pressing to do than sitting down and typing out a post. I DO know there are still a few people that like to look up recipes, myself being one of them so I'm going to keep putting out my hopefully more frequent posts.

I was scrolling through Instagram(another time waster) and spotted this recipe. Every year I do a lot of Christmas baking and I always like to try a new recipe or two. Well I had a helper coming over to hang out for the day (Thanks Kate) and since this recipe involved a few more steps, it was the perfect time to try it.

Hot Cocoa Cookies

3/4 cup cocoa
1 cup chocolate chips
36 Kisses (approx)
18 marshmallows
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Cut each marshmallow in half. Set aside. Take wrappers off Kisses. Preheat oven to 350F

Beat butter and sugars,add eggs and vanilla, then dry ingredients. Chill dough.(They suggested 10 min in Freezer but I would chill it longer in fridge)
Roll dough into balls about an inch and a half. Flatten slightly.
Bake 6-7 min: top with marshmallow half and bake an additional 3-4 min( I didn't think the marshmallow was cooking so I went with 4 but I think I would bake slightly less next time)
Remove from oven. Cool one minute and top with KISS.
Allow cookies to cool completely.

These cookies were delicious! and the dough even better!  They are a soft cookie and the topping was yummy. A great addition to your cookie tray

Almond Cookies

When I was down in Florida, I wanted to check out the Sam's Club because we no longer have one here in Ontario. BOO! I don't know what possessed me but I ended up buying a Club pack of Almonds with the brown edges. I'm not sure what they are called but they are sometimes hard to find here and nuts are so expensive right now. So of course, I had to find some way to start using up this large package of almonds. I found this recipe on the Internet and even though glazing takes a bit of extra time, it's worth it and the little nut rosette on top looks so pretty on your Christmas platter. And the extra almond flavour is delish!

Glazed Almond Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Glaze
1 cup icing sugar
1 tsp almond extract
3 tsp water

Cream butter and sugar and extract. Add dry ingredients.
Roll in to balls and bake at 350F.  10 minutes or so
When cookies are slightly warm, cover with glaze and decorative nut arrangement.
Freezes well.

Mennonite Shortbread

This recipe is such a favourite of mine, I knew I needed to add it to the blog in case it goes missing. I make it every year without fail at Christmas. It's shortbread with the added sweetness of buttercream frosting. A little fussier to ice each one but well worth it. On the front end, you can make the dough and roll into into logs and throw it in the freezer until you're ready to slice and bake.

Mennonite Shortbread
1 cup butter
1/2 cup icing sugar
2 cups flour minus 2 Tbsp
2 Tbsp corn starch

Cream butter and sugar. Add dry ingredients. Blend in with your
hands if needed. Roll into cylinders and chill or keep in freezer until you're ready.
Slice into 1/3 inch slices. Bake at 300F, 15 to 20 min.
When cool ice with your favourite frosting. Makes about 3 dozen.

Butter Ridge Cookies

Ignore the Christmas holly on the plate, I really DID just make these cookies, for the first time.
This looked like an old Cafeteria ladies recipe and we all know those are the best recipes so I thought I would try it as an accompaniment for fresh strawberries. They are really buttery and not too sweet and the ridges are kind of fun.

Butter Ridge Cookies
1 1/2 cups of butter, room temperature (yep, you read that right, that's a lot of butter)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar, add vanilla, salt and flour.
Roll into balls then use your 3 middle fingers to gently press ridges into the cookie.
Bake at 350F for 9-11 minutes or just until the edges are golden brown.
Very rich and satisfying.

Corn Chip (Fritos) cookies

When I spotted this recipe on one of the blogs that I read, I knew I had to try it. I'm a big fan of sweet and salty and Fritos fit the bill. Who knew, you could add them to a cookie?
Try it, you won't be disappointed.

Corn Chip Cookies
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups crushed corn chips
1/4 cup Skor bits
Sugar to roll cookie dough balls in

Cream together butter, shortening, sugars and peanut butter. Stir in egg and vanilla
Whisk together dry ingredients and stir into creamed mixture until well blended.
Stir in corn chips and Skor bits.
Scoop out 1 inch balls and roll in sugar.
Bake at 350F for 12 minutes.
Makes around 2 dozen.

Ranger Cookies

We are in the deep freeze here in Southern Ontario and it's wearing thin. Hard to get the dogs out or get any fresh air so why not hibernate and bake these delicious cookies? I love pulling out a recipe in my Mom's handwriting. Her instructions are just like mine. Basically mix and bake. I flipped the card over to see if there was a baking time or length and nothing!

She baked a lot and we were always excited to get home from school and see if anything was waiting for us. Sometimes it was "Eat a banana" but often there were freshly baked cookies. These ones are yummy!

Fresh from the oven.

Ranger Cookies

1/2 cup butter or shortening

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup Rice Krispies

1/2 cup coconut

Mix and cream butter and sugars thoroughly. Add eggs and flour. Beat well.

(thought I would keep the instructions basic, if you're a baker, you'll know what to do 😉 )

Oreo stuffed Peanut butter cookies

It's been awhile since I posted a recipe because I have been doing my Christmas baking and I always make my old favourites but I saw this awhile ago and wanted to try it.
I used mini Oreos because I thought that would be one heck of a large cookie with the regular size and it turned out pretty well. Actually stayed crunchy but maybe didn't have the full flavour of a large Oreo.

It's always fun to have a little surprise hiden in your cookie.  Here's the recipe so you can try it too (or make the cookie plain, it's still delicious)

Oreo Stuffed Peanut butter cookies
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar(packed)
2 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 package of Oreos

Cream butters and sugars. Add dry ingredients. Chill a bit.
Grab a hunk of dough and mould around Oreo. Roll in sugar if desired.
Bake at 350F ish for 8-11 minutes. You want the cookie to be slightly moist.

Canada Day 150

I always like to do a little entertaining to celebrate Canada Day and the beginning of the summer. It's nice to put up some flags and show some appreciation and gratitude to live in such a beautiful and respected Country. It was a small gathering but I enjoyed making some good summery food and I was gifted this lovely bouquet...

I've been wanting to try to make a giant cookie for some time so I just grabbed a recipe off the Internet and gave it a try.

I loved the Canada Day M and M's. So festive. I put the dough on a pizza pan and held my breath as it crept closer and closer to the edges while it was baking.

I narrowly avoided a baking disaster and overall the cookie turned out pretty well but I found it a touch dry. I wanted to make sure it was thoroughly baked in the middle so maybe I left it in a little long. Once it was decorated up and accompanied with ice cream, it turned out pretty well...

Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try.

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie
1 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips (I substituted some M and M's)

Mix as per usual for cookies then spread on a 14 inch pizza pan. Bake at 375F for 20 to 25 minutes.
(I might try turning the oven temperature down a bit to avoid the overbaking)

Skor Cookies

I wanted to make a basic cookie yesterday and use up a couple things in my pantry so I decided to make these Skor cookies. They are delish! might stick a bit to your cookie sheet so make sure it well greased or tempered. A nice plain buttery cookie with a hint of toffee.

Skor Cookies

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/3 cups Chipits Skor Toffee bits

Cream butter and sugars, add eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Drop by cookie scoop onto well-greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350F 10 to 12 min.

Almond Crunch Cookies

I thought I had posted these cookies before but I couldn't find them on the blog and they're a winner so I had to add the recipe. My heritage predisposes me to being a lover of all things almond. The cereal adds a nice crunch to these cookies and you can never go wrong with oatmeal.

Almond Crunch Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup shortening
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 cups uncooked oatmeal ( I used large flake but any type is fine)
1 1/2 cups toasted corn cereal ( like Chex, I actually used Rice Chex)

Beat shortening until fluffy, add sugars, then 2 eggs and almond flavouring. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in another bowl then add to sugar mixture. Beating well. Stir in oatmeal then gently fold in partially crushed cereal. You want it chunky to keep the crunch. Using a scoop, drop dough on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake at 325F for 12 -14 minutes. Cool and transfer to your container.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

 

I went out for lunch with my brother the other day to a very nice Mennonite style restaurant with a yummy looking selection of baked goods in the store area. I like Peanut butter and he likes oatmeal raisin so we picked up a pack (I won) and to my dismay when I got home and tasted them, they were rather dry and disappointing. So I felt bad that I pushed my choice and made my sibling a delicious batch of FRESH Oatmeal Raisin cookies with delicious yellow raisins. Here's the recipe...

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins
1 tsp cinnamon

Cream butter and sugar together. Add egg and vanilla. Add remaining ingredients.
Mix well. Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes.

As I noted in my recipe book "SCRUMPTIOUS"

Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

After some brief computer repair problems, let me introduce you to my favourite recipe book...

As you can see, it's been well-loved, first by my Mom and now by me. I go to it for all of my old time favourite including bread recipes. But my favourite classic peanut butter cookie is also found in this volume and now I'm sharing it with you.

Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup smooth peanut butter
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Cream shortening until fluffy. Gradually add sugars mixing until creamy. Beat in eggs and mix well. Add dry ingredients. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet and add classic criss-cross with moistened fork.
Bake at 375 F approximately 8-11 minutes.
So good!

PS.  I think the search button is working again so you can look up recipes by typing in a key word. 

A couple late Valentines

So I'm a little late posting but I wanted to show the cute cookies that I bought for the boys at the Dog Rescue Foster event....

Aren't they the cutest? My love for you is stronger than the Force. Love it!

And I got a little Valentine package myself...

Some of my favourite things... butterflies for my cards, a Mason Jar Stamp and chocolate. Thanks Cor.

Happy Valentine's Day

It is too cold to walk the dogs today. Minus 23 C this morning so it's a good opportunity to do a quick blog post. Busy working on cards for a Swap later this winter but that's a secret so I'll show you the baking that we made yesterday to donate to a Local Rescue. Nothing too elaborate but hopefully, it helped raise some funds for Save Me Rescue.

I always like to take the items packaged. I'm not big on open containers etc. Plus, they look much cuter in their packaging especially for Valentines Day.

We did some Funfetti cookies and some chocolate peanut butter Haystacks. They were a little chewy but good flavour and quick and easy to make.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

It's been really hot around here so I don't like turning the oven on too much when the air conditioning is running but there was a break in the temperatures and I was anxious to try out this new recipe.

Usually I'm a purist when it comes to cookies, either peanut butter or oatmeal but to mix the two together? NEVER! But this recipe sounded really good and you can't go wrong with peanut butter cups in anything so I gave it a shot and was not disappointed. These turned out really well.

I used a scoop to dish them out so my cookies were all nice and uniform. I found them a bit soft but that's because I had to soften my butter in the microwave. I just popped them in the fridge for a couple minutes and they were good to go.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oatmeal (small flake)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup M and M's
1 cup miniature peanut butter cups, cut into fourths

Preheat oven to 350F
Cream butter and peanut butter, add sugars, add eggs and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients. Stir in add ins.
Drop by scoops onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 -12 minutes. 

Happy Valentine's Day

I'm a little late but I was busy yesterday and I wanted to show off the final segment of the Senior's event. Apparently, they are quite fond of sugar cookies so I got my "team" together a couple days before the Event and we had so much fun decorating these cookies. Hopefully, there weren't any insulin problems after we left. These are basic sugar cookies with buttercream frosting and lots of sprinkles.

Date Filled Oat Cookies

I think that I have one or two more Valentine cards to post but who are we kidding? The star of the Senior's event that I ran yesterday were these Date Filled Oat Cookies. I have made them for years from my Mom's collection of recipes. They are from this ancient mini recipe book that was published, I believe in 1966.

Many of the seniors recalled baking these up when they had kitchens of their own or remembering their own mothers making them or making them for their spouses during many years of marriage. It was really rewarding to offer the Seniors a new activity to try. I had 16 attendees including 2 gents and a pair of newlyweds. The cards may not have turned out exactly as I planned but it was a really enjoyable afternoon and everyone enjoyed the activity AND the cookies. Here's the recipe if you would like to try making this classic yourself....

Date Filled Oat Cookies
1 cup shortening (part butter)
1 cup brown sugar packed
1/2 cup milk
2 cups Robin Hood oats (I think I used Quick oats, a little finer cut)
1 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Cream shortening, add sugar then milk, then oats.
Add dry ingredients to mixture. Stir thoroughly. Dough will be very soft.
Chill several hours or overnight.
Roll dough to 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured board. Cut with cookie cutters and bake at 350F 12 -15 minutes. Chill. (I put mine in the freezer until I was ready to use)

Date Filling
1/2 pound dates, pitted and chopped into small pieces (the original recipe called for 1/2 pound but I used 2 2/3 cups which is one pound and it turned out fine)
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
Add water and sugar to dates, Cook until thick, stirring well. Add lemon juice. Cool before using.