Ma Bell's Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter cookies are a favorite of one of my daughters. Not being much of a peanut butter fan myself, I never made them, but her great-grandmother, Ma Bell, made them often. “Ma Bell” was the name my children’s beloved great-grandmother chose to be called when her first great-grandchild was born. I thought it was the perfect name for a couple of reasons — 1) because it was a play on her name, Isabel, and 2) because she spent decades working as a switchboard operator for the Bell Telephone Company. Sadly, Ma Bell is no longer with us, but we treasure her hand-written recipe - just seeing it brings back so many memories that warm my heart.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• half sheet pans https://amzn.to/3uIhQ0w

• silpat liners https://amzn.to/3Bj6uBx

• #50 portion scoop (NOT 50mm) https://amzn.to/3JfbvxE

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Ma Bell’s Peanut Butter Cookies

makes about 56 cookies (#50 scoop)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

• 1 cup light brown sugar

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 cup coconut oil (solid, room temp - not melted)

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F, place oven rack in center position, and line 3 half sheet pans with silpat liners.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the sugars, coconut oil (solid, room temperature), peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla extract on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

4. Slowly add the flour mixture until fully incorporated and no sign of dry ingredients remain.

5. Use #50 scoop to portion dough and roll into balls.

6. Evenly space 12 dough balls per sheet pan and use a fork to press cross-hatch marks on top of each cookie; chill for 10 minutes before baking.

7. Bake chilled dough for about 10 minutes or when they cookies just start to turn golden around the edges; remove from oven and allow cookies to rest on pan until cool before transferring to a cooling rack.

8. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days (or freeze for longer storage).

Notes

• For best results, bake only one pan of cookies at a time and be sure the pan is completely cool before you use it for the next batch.

• The original recipe called for lard, but we didn’t have any lard in the pantry so we substituted an equal amount of unrefined coconut oil (solid, room temp - not melted). The result was a lighter cookie with slightly sweet coconut notes (we actually like them even better than the original). if you don’t care for the flavor of coconut, feel free to use refined coconut oil.

• For the holidays, Ma Bell would often sprinkle her peanut butter cookies with a little red or green sanding sugar before baking.

Crystallized Ginger Crinkles

We’re in the midst of a cold snap and there’s just something about a chill in the air that motivates me to bake!! The flavorful combination of spices and molasses make these cookies, which are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside, perfect for the holiday season!

Make the cookie dough and, before baking, we need to do a few things.

I used a #50 cookie scoop (my favorite size for cookies) to portion the dough. I’ll post a link to this favorite tool below.

Then roll the dough portions in the palm of your hands to make balls.

Next grab some sanding sugar. It glistens in the light. If you don’t have sanding sugar, you can use turbinado sugar, or even plain ole granulated sugar.

Once the balls of cookie dough are coated, pop them in the fridge to chill before baking.

Bake as directed in the recipe below. After removing from the oven, allow the crinkles to cool on sheet pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

I used ginger chips for this recipe, but I could have chopped crystallized ginger as well.

Tip: The best way I’ve found to cut crystallized ginger is to use a pair of sharp kitchen shears.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• #50 cookie scoop https://amzn.to/3rKxOoT

• half sheet pans https://amzn.to/35Z1GFA

• silpat baking mats https://amzn.to/36bQsOj

• ginger chips https://amzn.to/3uMXe7u

• crystallized ginger https://amzn.to/33kpSS0

• sanding sugar https://amzn.to/354Ipi5

• golden syrup https://amzn.to/3nZJgJw

• unsulphured molasses https://amzn.to/3uIgKlq

• stand mixer https://amzn.to/3j52Os3

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Crystallized Ginger Crinkle Cookies

makes about 4 dozen cookies (#50 scoop)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 2 teaspoons ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed

• 1 large egg

• 2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses

• 2 tablespoons Lyle’s golden syrup (see notes below)

• 1/2 cup finely minced crystallized ginger

• sanding sugar for coating

Recipe Directions

1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and allspice; set aside until needed.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes).

3. Add the egg, golden syrup, and molasses until fully incorporated.

4. Stir in the minced crystallized ginger.

5. Using a #50 scoop, portion all the cookie dough and place on a silpat-lined half sheet pan.

6. Roll each portion into a ball, then coat with sanding sugar; return to half sheet pan and chill for at least 10 minutes.

7. Preheat oven to 400F and place rack in center position.

8. Place 12 chilled balls of cookie dough evenly on a cool, silpat-lined half sheet pan; bake one sheet at a time for 10-12 minutes.

9. Remove cookie from oven and rest on cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Notes

• You can substitute more molasses if you don’t have any Lyle’s Golden Syrup (but why wouldn’t you? It’s the tastiest stuff ever!!).

• Be sure cookie sheets are completely cool before placing chilled dough balls on them.

• For best results, bake just one tray at a time.

• You can make and freeze the dough balls ahead of time (before coating with sanding sugar). Thaw dough balls in fridge overnight, then roll in sanding sugar and proceed as directed.

adapted from King Arthur