Your child will be the most popular kid
in school with a few of these delicious treats packed in his
or her lunch. Be sure to save a few for yourself...adults love
them too!
The Ultimate
Lunchbox Peanut Butter Cookies
1/2 cup creamy peanut
butter (note:if using crunchy style, add 2 tablespoons more)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Place oven rack just above oven center. F.
In a large bowl, combine
peanut butter, butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg and vanilla; beat
with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. In another bowl,
mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Stir into butter mixture
until well blended.
Shape dough into 1-inch
balls. Place balls 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Gently flatten each ball with fork in a criss-cross pattern.
Bake in the top half of
375°F oven until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove
cookies from sheets; cool on wire racks.
Makes 24 cookies.
Variations:
Slice-N-Bake: Prepare
dough as above but do not preheat oven until ready to bake. Roll
dough into 10-inch log. Wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap and
chill several hours until firm. Slice log into 1/4-inch slices
and bake as above.
Peanut Thumbprint Cookies:
Prepare dough as above. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls
in beaten egg white and then into 1 cup finely chopped peanuts.
Place on ungreased cookie sheets, 3 inches apart. Gently press
thumb in center of each cookie. Bake as above. Press thumb gently
in center of each cookie, while warm, if deeper indentation is
desired. Place large chocolate chip or drop into center, or cool
and fill with favorite jam.
Recipe and photograph provided courtesy
of Peanut Council.
