Peanut Butter Cookies

This was adapted from my great-grandmother’s recipe, which none of us even knew she had.
I found it in an old cookbook her church put out in the ’70s. Unlike most peanut butter cookies,
these are very soft and chewy, not hard or crumbly. Add a ½ cup of chocolate chips for warm
cookie bliss.


2 cups fl our, sifted
2 teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup peanut butter


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, combine fl our, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugar, brown sugar, applesauce and vanilla. Add peanut butter and mix well; this may require a hand mixer or some electric beaters at a slow speed. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and blend until just mixed.
Drop heaping tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto baking sheet, about 2 inches apar t. These cookies spread very nicely, but you can press them with a fork for that classic peanut butter cookie look. Bake for 10 minutes, or until tops crack slightly and edges are a little browned. If you are baking more than one sheet at a time, rotate the sheets halfway through the baking time. Let the cookies cool on
the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Store cooled cookies in an air tight container at room temperature.
Yield: 2 DOZEN COOKIES
Prep time: 20 MINUTES

Other nut butters are great in this recipe.
Try almond or cashew—subtle but divine!