ABBYLVANDIVER Home baking around the Christmas holiday is all
about the cookies. Well, at least for me. As a child, every year I would go to
a family friend’s mother’s house to make cookies. I called her Nana, although
she wasn’t my grandmother. She showed us patience and love both with her smile
and in helping us to bake.
We'd make a few batches of a few kinds of cookies, but the almond crescent cookies were my favorite. They were sweet with the thick coating of powdered sugar, buttery, nutty and oh so yummy. I remember, she’d pull out a heavy metal grinder with a hand crank and we’d run the almonds through it. We’d laugh and eat and it created such fond childhood memories for me. I always though that I’d grow up and do the same things with my kids. But that just didn’t seem to be a thing my kids enjoyed or have the time for when they were coming up. Oh, they had time to eat them, but would flee the kitchen if I called for help. My grandkids, though, roll up their sleeves and are eager to help, taste and devour.
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| This Year's Christmas Tree |
I don’t know, maybe the nutty, sweet taste reminds me of my childhood trips to Nana’s house. Or perhaps my love of them somehow coincided with my love of Christmas. But I always end up with a batch of them around the holidays. Still one day, I might just try those almond crescent ones again. Until then it’s peanut butter for me!
Peanut Butter Cookies!
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 stick of butter
1 1/4 cup peanut butter (Creamy)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookies sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
DIRECTIONS
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Whisk to mix.
Cream butter and both sugars together in a bowl. Butter should be room temperature.
Add peanut butter and mix until well incorporated.
Mix in egg and vanilla extract before adding the flour mixture. Mix with an electric mixture until smooth.
Roll dough into balls (as big or as small as you like them) and place on baking sheet.
Bake at least 10-12 minutes, but longer if you like them crunchy (like me!).
Enjoy!
My favorite Christmas cookie is the cut our sugar cookies decorated with the colored frosting. I have many fond memories of Mom making them during our Christmas break from school. Then my brother and I would share many bowls of colored frosting to decorate our cookies. As we got older the icing decorating got more elaborate. I think back with not only fond memories, but realizing that my Mom was pretty smart in finding a way to keep two siblings happy and without quarreling during many days at home during the school break. I've since made with my our daughter when she was growing up and I'm still making them so many years later.
ReplyDelete2clowns at arkansas dot net
Oh goodness we just drove 45 min away to the very best bakery we think in Anamosa Iowa to get 2 dozen peanut butter cookies that are huge and thick and also 2 dozen snickdoodles but they are not all for me.I am sharing with the neighbor lady who lost her wonderful husband 3 weeks ago in case any more of her family come to visit her for the holidays. Hubbys son also is making a stop up here to help his dad with some dry wall that got dropped off this morning for the garage that is all done on the outside and now hubby is going to attempt to work on the inside himself. But cookies my grandma who was orginally from Minn lived in Ca and we used to make spritz cookies I thought hubby and I would make them this year but the garage comes first. Cookies I just love them. peggy clayton ptclayton2 @ aol.com
ReplyDeleteAll cookies call my name. My favorite Christmas cookies are probably either spritz cookies or pizzelles waffle cookies. We only made them around the holidays. Sadly, I just don't bake much anymore, but I still appreciate the efforts of others when offered. Happy cookie baking and Happy Holidays to one and all!
ReplyDeleteI make a very similar peanut butter cookie made with fresh ground peanut butter and put through the cookie press with a flower design sprinkled with a bit of sugar and a hershey kiss in the middle. they are a favorite of my family and friends on cookie trays.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't forget the criss cross marks of the fork tines.
ReplyDelete" an electric mixture" An elecric mixer?
My husband insists our Christmas baking isn’t done until peanut blossoms are made!
ReplyDeleteMy Mom made wonderful peanut butter cookies. I like them soft & barely done.
ReplyDelete