Or, maybe: Grab ’em by the heartland, as it’s hard to think of a more plainly all-American treat than peanut butter cookies. Doing a little lightweight research happily confirms my suspicion that these baked treats were indeed invented right here in the good ol’ U. S. of A. That just seems right.
Looks like the Pauls are playing on my emotions, now. So: To the task at hand!
This is a simple recipe, as befits a homespun classic. I was able to whip these up in less than ninety minutes. And, as was the case for me, you might even find you already have all the ingredients on hand. No special shopping trip needed!
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| The ingredients |
(Though the fine print on my package of what I took to be white sugar gave me pause: “[…] Replacement For White Refined Sugar” is the way my sweetener made from evaporated cane juice is described. The recipe specifically calls for “white sugar”, so probably I didn’t follow it as closely as I thought. I’d like to think the organic sugar I used is completely interchangeable with the usual refined white sugar – wouldn’t it be, if my kids can make Kool-Aid with it? – but next time I’ll be more comfortable to hew to the recipe more exactingly.)
The ingredients are straightforward, so the recipe’s proprietary nature lies in their proportions and the order in which they get combined. All mixed, they made for a crumbly dough,
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| All mixed up |
which was easy enough to apportion into individual cookies. Showing that respecting tradition is a hallmark of conservatism, the recipe instructs to “press down with fork to make an imprint,” though anybody who grew up in the US would know at least that much about making peanut butter cookies.
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| New and impressionable |
All baked, the cookies had a nice light color and texture. I left the second (smaller) batch in the oven a few minutes longer than the prescribed time, and they were the better for it – a little bit firmer and crispier.
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| Yeah, I use parchment. So did the Founders! |
All around, the results were fine. No one in my family complained, and I know I enjoyed the finished product.
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| Pairs well with cold milk |
Lao Tzu said: “Ruling a country is like cooking a small fish,” and I’m guessing the Paulian analog to that would be: “Governing a republic is like baking a batch of peanut butter cookies.” It’s hard to mess up a classic if you don’t get too innovative or ambitious.
Lesson learned: Sometimes simple and traditional is all you need.
Rating: Four out of four fork tine impressions
You serve up all-American well. Even the Wal-Mart branded food stuff beams in glory.
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