Greetings Wonderful People!!
The holiday season is full swing. Hanukkah begins Saturday, Christmas Day is Sunday, and Kwanzaa starts next Monday. Purchasing gifts for your loved ones. Decorating your house with holiday cheer. When I think about the winter holidays, the first thing that comes to mind is homemade cookies. There is something about Christmas and cookies that brings a smile to my face. From icebox cookies to sugar cookies, from snickerdoodles to chocolate chip cookies; I haven’t met too many cookies that I don’t like. But who makes homemade cookies anymore? With all the other things that are going, who has the time? Well if there was a simple, but delicious cookie to make; would you make it?
Let me suggest the Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies.
The Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies
The Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies have been one of my wife’s favorite cookies since she was a itty bitty little girl. Her mother found the recipe in a cookbook that their church, St.Jacobi Lutheran Church, published more than thirty years ago. A God fearing church lady named, Marjorie Wetzel submitted the recipe. Wondering about Mrs. Wetzel, I searched and quickly found her obituary. I learned that this amazing woman of faith who was very active passed away just last year at the age of 94. Her husband passed away this year in February at the age of of 97. When I showed my wife their photos from the obituaries, she recognized them and remembered them from the church. I feel a connection with this couple because we share a love for this peanut butter cookies and our faith in God. Here is her recipe.
Original Recipe from Mrs. Wetzel
1 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Mix together and drop by 1/2 teaspoons on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven.
The recipe did not include how long to bake the cookies. For the first batch, we tested twelve minutes. That was too long because the bottom was too brown for our liking. For the next batch, we tried eight minutes and it was perfect. We didn’t have any vanilla in our cabinet, so we substituted honey and it worked wonderfully. We used brown eggs from a farmer that my mother buys from. Since we tweaked the recipe a bit, here are our modifications.
Updated Recipe from JT
1 cup peanut butter
1 large brown egg
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon honey
maple sugar to sprinkle on top of the cookies before putting in the oven
Mix all of the ingredients together. Roll about 1/2 teaspoon of the mixture into ball and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten the cookie with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern in the cookie. Place a pinch of maple sugar on the top of cookie. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8 to 9 minutes. Allow to cool about for ten minutes before removing from the pan. Yields about two dozen cookies and ingredients can be doubled if more cookies are needed. We recommend that you use the old-fashioned peanut butter and not the natural kind that separates. Since it has a different texture, we don’t think the finished cookie would be to our liking.
Fresh from the Oven
The cookies are called Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies. And these cookies will definitely surprise you, for a couple of reasons. One, the recipe cannot be any simpler. There are only four ingredients. They mix together quickly and are easy to put together. You should have all of the ingredients in your pantry. Two, the cookies take only eight minutes to bake in the oven. You can easily make four dozen in about one hour or less. Three, the cookies taste amazing. They are soft and creamy; and are packed with a peanut butter flavor that will explode in your mouth. Your taste buds will thank you.
Whether it is for a family gathering, or a cookie exchange at work; these Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies will be the hit of the party. Give them a try and I know it will be hard for you to stop eating them. If you make them, let us know what you think.
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