Peanut Blossoms

AKA Peanut Butter Blossoms, Peanut Butter Kiss Cookie, Hershey Kiss Cookie and other variations. These cookies were created by Freda Smith from Gibsonburg, Ohio in 1957. It is basically a peanut butter thumbprint cookie with a Hershey Kiss on top, instead of jam. She entered Peanut Blossoms in the 9^th Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest in 1957. She didn’t win the contest, but this cookie has been a favorite ever since!

This recipe came from Hershey and has ¼ cup more peanut butter than the original. I have added to the directions from experience. I was inspired to make them today after attending the Christmas play at Arnold’s Creek Christian Church last night. They gave out bags of Christmas candy, including lots of Hershey Kisses. 

Yield: 4 dozen

1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. soda
3/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup shortening

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbsp. milk

1/3 cup sugar, in small bowl

48 Hershey Kisses (Any flavor)

1.     Preheat oven to 375°F. Count out 48 chocolates. Don’t unwrap chocolates until immediately after putting cookies in oven. Then you will know how many to unwrap.

2.     Mix together flour and soda in a one quart mixing bowl. Set aside.

3.     In a large mixer bowl, cream together shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar and 1/3 cup of sugar. Blend in egg, vanilla and milk. Stir in the dry ingredients with a large wooden spoon.

4.     Squeeze a scant teaspoon of dough into a ball in the palm of your hand. If you try to roll into a ball, the dough breaks apart. Be careful not to make balls too big or you won’t get 4 dozen. I know it is hard to resist scooping up a full spoon of dough, but you only need a ball big enough to fit the bottom of a Hershey Kiss. Frankly, from the size of the cookies in the picture, there is no way they got 4 dozen from this recipe.

5.     Roll in sugar and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Two, 10”x15” (inner dimension), cookie sheets fit in my oven. Using the four – three pattern, 25 cookies fit on a sheet.

6.     Bake for 10 minutes. Be careful when picking up cookie sheets to put in the oven, the cookies tend to roll around and may fall on the floor!

7.     Unwrap the chocolates now. You can also set up your cooling racks and do some kitchen clean-up while the cookies are baking.

8.     Remove from oven and set the cookie sheets on a firm, flat, heat-proof surface. You will be pressing on each cookie and don’t want to flip over the cookie sheet. Immediately press one Hershey kiss into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges.

9.     Remove from cookie sheet and lay on brown paper or racks to cool. When removing cookies to cooling rack, be careful not to flip over cookie. The chocolate is melting and it makes a little mess. But we can eat our mistakes!

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/peanut-blossoms/b5de97ec-9e31-4303-8cb7-9484b5e4e86b#?st=6&term=peanut blossoms&ps=9&pi=9

http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipes/detail.asp?id=5191&page=12&per=10&category_id=20#

Coconut Blondies

I had a telephone call from my daughter away at college the other day. She is working part-time in the dining hall. She heard they were serving Blondies and was eagerly anticipating the meal. She was disappointed that they weren’t the same ones Mom made. So she called me for the recipe. I looked it up in my computer recipe file and noticed that I collected this one in 1999. It was originally from Gourmet, March 1992. I emailed the file to her.

I used to make these quite a bit, especially for pot-lucks. They are quite a favorite. I often made a double batch. Two 13 x 9 inch pans fit nicely in the oven. Sometimes, I use some butterscotch chips. Funny, I never noticed that I was supposed toast the coconut. I never did that.

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, toasted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Lightly coat a 13x 9 inch baking pan with canola oil spray.

In a bowl, with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and the brown sugar. Beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

In a small bowl whisk together salt, baking powder and flour.

Add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl and beat the batter until it is just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and the coconut.

Spread the batter evenly in prepared pan.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and crumbs stick to a toothpick stuck in the center.

Let the mixture cool completely in the pan on a rack, then, cut it into squares. (4 x 8)

Yield: 32

Original recipe from: Gourmet | March 1992

Grandma Fewless’ Sour Milk Sugar Cookies

When I was a child, I would “help” Grandma make these cookies. It was great fun (messy too!) and the prize was a fresh warm cookie, sweet and soft. This recipe puffs up to make great sugar cookies.

Yield: 3 dozen

1 cup milk

1 Tbsp. white vinegar

6 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 pinch salt

2 1/2 cups white sugar

1 1/2 cups shortening

3 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease cookie sheets.

2. To make sour milk, add vinegar to milk, and let stand for 5 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl, stir together 4 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and sugar.

4. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

5. Stir in sour milk, beaten eggs, and vanilla. Add the remaining flour. Stir and handle as little as possible or the dough will toughen. Dough should be very soft.

6. Toss the whole batch of dough on a heavily floured surface. Pat it out with a liberal dusting of flour to about ½ inch thick. Lightly roll out dough with a rolling pin to ¼ inch thick. Cut with 2 ½ inch biscuit cutter, pressing straight down. Do not twist. Lift gently and carefully with spatula. Toss gently between hands to shake off excess flour. Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.

7. Put some sugar in a salt shaker and sprinkle cookies with sugar.

8. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on brown paper.

Double Fudge Brannies

I created this cookie circa 1979 to fill a craving a friend and I had to just stuff ourselves with something rich and chocolaty and still claim some redeeming value. This is really a chocolate chip cookie on steroids and health food. Ha ha! Just for you Joanne!

Beware how many you eat! They are VERY yummy. I took a batch to a Halloween party and the kids made a raid on them. All the moms knew if their kids were guilty by the next morning. ;-)

I have entered this recipe in numerous cookie contests, but have had no response. Oh well.

Yield: 5 dozen

2 cups unbleached flour

1 cup cocoa, powdered

1 tsp. baking powder, (no aluminum)

1 cup wheat bran

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

3 eggs

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1 (12 oz.) bag chocolate chips, (2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa and baking powder.

In large mixer bowl, cream together butter and peanut butter with sugar and brown

sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

Stir in flour one cup at a time. Fold in chocolate chips.

Roll a teaspoon of dough in a ball and place on ungreased 10x15 inch baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Flatten cookie lightly with a drinking glass dipped in sugar. Repeat to fill cookie sheet (about 13 cookies).

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until just set. A slight depression should remain when touched lightly with a fingertip. Cookies should still be soft, like a moist brownie. If baked too long, they will be firm and dry.

Remove from baking sheet to cool on brown paper. (A paper grocery sack works well.) When cooled, store in an air-tight container to retain moist texture.

Edinborough Date Bars

It seems like Grandma Petrie made these once when I was very young. I make these most every Christmas since I began baking in my teens. I find my mixer bowl is not large enough, so I make half the oat mixture at a time. Do the bottoms first, then the tops. Or use a very large bowl and a hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar. I thought I was making too much, but they are all gone by Christmas!

Yield: 4 dozen

5 cups  (20 oz.) Chopped dates
¼ cup sugar
1 ½ cups Water
1 cup Chopped walnuts
3 ½ cups Sifted flour
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Salt
1 ½ cups Butter
2 cups Brown sugar
3 cups Rolled oats

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease two 13”x 9” pans.

Cook dates with sugar and water. Cool and stir in nuts.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in flour mixture. Fold in oats.

Press ½ of oat mixture in bottom of pans. Spread date mixture over oats. Sprinkle rest of oat mixture over dates and pat lightly in place.

Bake 25 minutes or until just browned. Cool. Cut into bars while still warm.

“STOP AND GO” COOKIES

There was a discussion and search for this recipe on the recipe groups several years ago. I subsequently found the original recipe. These are very festive, tasty, nutritious and easy to make. I have included the original recipe from Quaker Oats. They are a thumbprint cookie with oats. I have made chocolate cookies by adding cocoa to the recipe. You can fit about 18 cookies on a 11” x 15” cookie sheet.

1 cup shortening, soft
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
Red and green candied cherries

Beat shortening until creamy; gradually beat in sugars. Blend in egg and vanilla.

Sift together flour, soda, salt and cinnamon; stir into creamed mixture. Blend in oats.

Shape dough into small balls and place on greased cookie sheets.

Make a hollow in each ball; place half a red or green candied cherry in each hollow.

Bake in preheated moderate oven (375°F.) 10 to 12 minutes.

Makes 4 dozen.

From: ALL-TIME ANYTIME RECIPES, The Quaker Oats Company, Chicago, IL; 1972; pg. 12

Grandma Petrie's Scottish Shortbread

My Grandma brought this recipe with her from Scotland in 1929. She passed away in 2004, but we still make this recipe every Christmas.

2 cups sugar
2 lb. butter, room temperature
8 cups flour, sifted twice

Preheat oven to 300°F.

In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar with your hands.

Add flour and mix together with your hands.

Divide into two balls of dough.

Put each in a 9"x13" pan. Pat out evenly. Prick top with fork about every inch.

Bake for one hour.

Let cool on racks for 15 to 20 minutes before cutting into 1" squares or bars.

Cool completely, then store in tins lined with wax paper.

For very light and fluffy, melt in your mouth, shortbread, divide recipe in half and cream butter and sugar in mixer. Use twice sifted confectioner's sugar, measured before sifting. Gently stir in flour with wooden spoon. Never over mix or it will toughen.

I prefer to use unbleached white flour. Grandma has also used 1 cup of rice flour to 3 cups of white flour. She also used 1 cup of farina (Cream of Wheat) to 3 cups of white flour.

A half recipe will also fill two 8" round cake pans.

Add a teaspoon of almond extract for a mysterious and delicious difference.

Sugar can also be sprinkled lightly over top before baking.