SOFT PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

GO . . . VANISH INTO AIR . . . AWAY WITH YOU!
That would be me.

The garden swallowed me up,  spit me out and I flew far far away.

So . . . where have I been?  I took my sweet side kick clear across the map from Idaho to Virginia. We had a minor upset and spent a couple of grand nights in Chicago, due to something called an Earthquake then a hurricane! Airplanes don’t seem to operate when Airports have SHUT DOWN! Airports don’t seem to mind cancelling ALL flights and ruining perfect schedules. Trust me here . . . we certainly weren’t the only stranded, tired and irritated passengers. I was so very thankful to be standing for hours in “stranded passenger” lines with the one I love.  I felt so very sorry for the small children, traveling alone, looking scared, confused and forsaken!

Yes . . . I’m a wimp! I would not have wanted to stand in that forsaken line by myself, wondering, waiting and begging for help. That Chicago Airport was daunting, to say the least. I still was a long way from Richmond, Virginia and NOTHING was moving.  Oh . . . had I been alone, I might have just curled up with those small children and cried!  Not really.  I would have felt sorry for myself for just a minute . . . put on my game face and took action. I would have looked calm and in control on the outside, but my insides would be screaming – “You’re such a faker!”  Yes, I can do that very well!

So . . . why Virginia?  Sweet things come in very small packages in Virginia.  The newest member of our family is Tanner. He came into this world a mere 3 lbs. When we left, he was weighing in at 5 lbs! Gee . . . see what all that kissing and loving does for babies. We have been very blessed with beautiful, perfect little grand babies. We’ve had 2 little boy bundles this summer. Sweet little Hudson was born just 5 weeks prior to Tanner and they are beautiful! This makes eight, which makes me OLD! Count them:  Logan, Bridger, Addisyn, Boston, Oakleigh, Cooper, Hudson, Tanner.

Sweeter than cookies . . .

So . . . what does all of this have to do with Peanut Butter Cookies?

Nothing.

I did miss you all though, and will be posting again soon.  In the meantime, make these cookies . . . cuz they’re really good!

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Soft Peanut Butter Cookies

makes about 24 cookies

A soft peanut butter cookie with the perfect amount of crunch.

Ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling

½ cup light brown sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 large egg, room temperature

1½ cups all-purpose

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon table salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or SilPats.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar on medium speed until very light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add peanut butter and cream until fully combined, about 1 minute. Add egg and mix until fully incorporated. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; add to wet ingredients and paddle just until dough forms.

Roll dough into 1 1/2″ balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place 2″ apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Using a fork, gently apply pressure to the top of the cookies, creating a criss-cross pattern, until cookies are 1/2″ thick.

Bake cookies for 14 minutes, rotating half-way through, until golden. Allow cookies to cool slightly, about 2 minutes, on baking sheets and then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

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