I know I wrote about peanut butter cookies not too long ago, and after I did, I didn’t make them again for quite some time. And when I did, I realized that although they were good, they still weren’t really what I was looking for. Trying to recreate a childhood food memory is so challenging! In talking with my sister Jane, we both agreed that those peanut butter cookies we used to enjoy were probably made with Crisco. It was very popular back then. She and I both shuddered, but the truth is, Crisco has its place, and it creates a texture that is hard to replicate using butter. It’s just true!

Dough is rich and crumbly.

So I opened up my mom’s Joy of Cooking to the peanut butter cookie recipe as a starting place. By the way, my mom’s Joy of Cooking is a cherished family heirloom. It is what my mom and we kids used for pretty much everything. It is the 1943 edition, and was given to my mom as a gift when she was in college. It is even signed by Irma Rombauer herself.

It is a gem, scribble marks included.

Although this book is falling apart, I don’t believe it should be treated as a museum piece. I absolutely love leafing through the pages and looking at the old recipes. I love coming across notes written by my mom. It’s as though she’s talking to me in one of my favorite languages: food! In the back, there are pages and pages of all kinds of notes, recipes, and even menu planning for dinner parties. I never tire of looking at them.

A treasure trove of my mother’s notes and favorite recipes.

At the beginning of each section is beautiful, whimsical silhouette-style artwork; so very lovely and old world.

I always love reading the “about” sections, so chock full of good information.

So even though I started out with the Joy of Cooking recipe (which uses butter), I decided to give it a go with Crisco. I also tweaked the measurements here and there, and I even added a special ingredient – smoky paprika! –  inspired by Sister Pie’s Peanut Butter Paprika Cookies. 

Love that classic criss-cross pattern.

I made these cookies again yesterday, just to make sure I had the details right. And I double checked oven temp and bake time. We had some plumbers over working on a pesky leak, so being in my kitchen seemed like the right thing to do. Even the cats had to stay out of their way.

The cats in their heated baskets are being very cooperative.

These cookies have a delightfully crunchy outer edge, they are rich like shortbread, and the center is nice and chewy… and the flavor is intensely peanut buttery. These are it!

Old School Peanut Butter Cookies

(Adapted from the 1942 Joy of Cooking recipe)

• 1/3 cup (64 grams) Crisco*
• 3/4 cup (198 grams) crunchy peanut butter (Jif or Skippy please**)
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cup (180 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon smoky paprika*** (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, and paprika. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat together the Crisco, peanut butter, and sugars until lightened in color and creamy.
4. Beat in the egg and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is well incorporated.
5. Add in the flour mixture and stir slowly, just until the flour is absorbed.
6. Make 1 1/2 tablespoon sized balls of dough (a cookie scoop makes this easy) and place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Flatten them just a little bit with your fingers to make chubby discs.
7. Make criss-cross pattern in tops of cookies with a fork. Don’t press down very hard; just enough to make the design. You want the cookies to be at least 1/2 inch thick, if not a bit more.
8. Bake one tray at a time on the center rack of your preheated 350° oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies begin to brown. Remove from oven and let cookies rest on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely. This recipe makes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies. Enjoy!

Notes:

*I have tried many different variations of this recipe. I really wanted to use butter, but it wasn’t the right texture. And just to be absolutely sure, I even made them with browned butter. Nope. It has to be Crisco.

**The peanut butter needs to be either Jif or Skippy (a texture and flavor thing). Using a natural peanut butter (just peanuts and salt) creates a denser cookie. Remember, these are old school peanut butter cookies.

***The smoky paprika adds a subtle earthiness to the flavor. Definitely optional. If in doubt, try adding just half the called for amount.

Apparently, my mom liked them baked for just 10 minutes. Thanks, Mom!

My mom during her college days, the winter she received her Joy of Cooking.