Food on a table next to a cup of coffee, with Butter and Cookie

Budget Bites: Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

If you were to look up “peanut butter cookies” in a dictionary dating back to the mid-1960s, I’ll bet you’d see a picture of Gwen Hunt.

Food on a table next to a cup of coffee, with Cookie and Peanut

My mother-in-law was a very organized woman. She had file folders for everything you can imagine including one containing lists of her most valued possessions along with the name of the person who would fall heir to that item upon her passing.

Among the items I received are two three-ring binders filled with “magnetic” scrapbook pages into which Gwen had carefully placed hundreds of handwritten and newspaper-clipped recipes. Next to each one are little handwritten notes about the recipes.

She includes each recipe’s origin along with other tidbits of information she undoubtedly believed I would want to know, such as how many cookies she baked for her parents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration on April 27, 1950 (10 dozen each of six different recipes, neatly arranged on facing pages). Many of the recipes are dated 1942 and, she notes, were in her original trousseau collection.

I stuck these binders in a closet after we settled the estate and sold the house. I guess I just wasn’t ready to admit that her many years of cooking and mothering were over. Until recently.

Going from one page to the next has been like sitting down with her over tea, once again. Oh, how she loved to recall names, occasions, and “lovely times” with her friends and family. Each one of the recipes reminds me so much of her, and in that, I’ve found comfort.

Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

Today, I want to share one of these recipes with you that is just “so Gwen!” The cookie recipe includes this note: “This is the recipe I used for many years as the children grew up. They loved them!” According to my husband, her middle son, they still do.

Not long ago a reader wrote asking if I knew of a recipe for plain, old-fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies—the kind she remembered from her childhood. I can’t be certain my husband’s favorite are hers too, but I sure wouldn’t bet against it!

First published: 4-24-17; Updated with Cost Analysis:  5-26-23

Food on a table next to a cup of coffee, with Cookie and Peanut
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4.74 from 15 votes

Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

These are the simple cookies my mother-in-law made for her family every week. The cookie recipe card I inherited includes this note: “This is the recipe I used for many years as the children grew up. They loved them!” According to my husband, her middle son, they still do.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Course: Cookies
Cuisine: American
Servings: 36 cookies
Calories: 88kcal
Author: Gwen Hunt

Ingredients

  • ½ cup peanut butter, any style
  • ½ cup butter
  • ½ cup light brown sugar
  • ½ cup white granulated sugar
  • 1 egg slightly beaten
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 pinch salt

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 F. 
  • With an electric mixer on low speed, cream together the peanut butter, butter, and sugars, about 3 mins.
  • Add beaten egg and mix to combine.
  • In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to sugar and egg mixture and stir until all dry ingredients are well incorporated. 
  • Roll into 1-inch balls and place them on greased baking sheets. Flatten each ball with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern.
  • Bake for about 10 minutes, or until cookies begin to just slightly brown.
  • Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 3 dozen

Nutrition

Calories: 88kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 73mg | Potassium: 40mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg

Food on a table, with Cookie

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16 replies
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  1. cheryl says:

    I have a hack for the criss-cross…..instead of a fork which sometimes results in thinner parts and thicker parts – I use a meat tenderizer. I spray a little pam on it so that the chilled cookie dough does not stick. ( I let it chill at least an hour in fridge.) Use a cookie scoop to put all that the pan will hold at one time, then go back with meat tenderizer and gently press and voila, perfect criss cross grid! Also for the person who wishes for Gluten Free, King Arthur, Pilsbury, and Bob’s Red Mill all make a cup for cup gluten free flour that you can use.

    Reply
  2. Beth Johnson says:

    For gluten-free, here is my favourite p.b. cookie recipe:
    1 cup peanut butter
    1 egg
    1 cup white sugar
    Mix all together, and bake. The most peanut-buttery cookies ever!

    Reply
  3. Lydia Warden says:

    If you need to make these gluten free, one egg, one cup sugar, one cup peanut butter. Mix together. Form into one inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Dip a fork I. Sugar and crisscross the top. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350.

    Reply
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