Believe It Or Not, Peanut Butter Cookies

I grew up in a family where peanut butter was a staple. My younger sister ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every single day for lunch from as far back as I can remember until she suddenly (and inexplicably) switched to hamburger dill pickles and miracle whip, sometime around junior high or high school. And yes, she eats "normal" food now. Suffice it say, we always bought peanut butter in the Large Economy size. Our brand of choice became the Cook Shack brand--the "store brand", at least at that time, of the Piggly Wiggly grocery store chain. (Anybody else remember Piggly Wiggly? They still exist in some parts of the south, including south Georgia). Nowadays I'm a Jif gal myself.

We used to make a lot of things that had peanut butter in them, too, like peanut butter frosting to top off a plain yellow cake; a yummy peanut butter/chocolate bar concoction that became the requested birthday cake/dessert of choice at our house for years; and of course, peanut butter cookies. (My sister and I used to make cookies and enter them into competition at the parish fair every year, because you got a free gate ticket for every entry you made. We made lots of cookies.)

This recipe today is a bit different from the traditional peanut butter cookies my sister and I used to make, but to me they're every bit as good, and a lot simpler to make. They call for NO flour, and only four ingredients of any kind, all of which you probably keep on hand. And best of all, they make a small batch, so once you mix the dough, you aren't tied to the kitchen for the next hour, taking pans of cookies in and out of the oven.

If you try these, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how good they are.

Ingredients:

• 1 c peanut butter
• 1 c sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 t vanilla

Mix all ingredients. Roll into balls, then place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Flatten with a fork dipped in water to make the traditional criss-cross design on top.

Bake at 350 F for about 12 minutes. Cool (if you can) and enjoy.

Note: I know that peanut butter flavored cookies, etc, have been suspect lately due to the salmonella outbreak, but the peanut paste involved in these cases have come from one particular plant who sold to industrial and institutional customers. As of last note, commercial peanut butter and peanut butter made fresh (like at health food stores) is not involved, but if you're concerned, Lynn's Kitchen has a recipe for homemade peanut butter that I think would be great in this recipe!

Don't forget to check for other recipes at Tasty Tuesday and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday .

Good cooking, and good eating!