Peanut butter cookies are a favorite of one of my daughters. Not being much of a peanut butter fan myself, I never made them, but her great-grandmother, Ma Bell, made them often. “Ma Bell” was the name my children’s beloved great-grandmother chose to be called when her first great-grandchild was born. I thought it was the perfect name for a couple of reasons — 1) because it was a play on her name, Isabel, and 2) because she spent decades working as a switchboard operator for the Bell Telephone Company. Sadly, Ma Bell is no longer with us, but we treasure her hand-written recipe - just seeing it brings back so many memories that warm my heart.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• half sheet pans https://amzn.to/3uIhQ0w

• silpat liners https://amzn.to/3Bj6uBx

• #50 portion scoop (NOT 50mm) https://amzn.to/3JfbvxE

Ma Bell’s Peanut Butter Cookies

makes about 56 cookies (#50 scoop)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

• 1 cup light brown sugar

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 cup coconut oil (solid, room temp - not melted)

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F, place oven rack in center position, and line 3 half sheet pans with silpat liners.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the sugars, coconut oil (solid, room temperature), peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla extract on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

4. Slowly add the flour mixture until fully incorporated and no sign of dry ingredients remain.

5. Use #50 scoop to portion dough and roll into balls.

6. Evenly space 12 dough balls per sheet pan and use a fork to press cross-hatch marks on top of each cookie; chill for 10 minutes before baking.

7. Bake chilled dough for about 10 minutes or when they cookies just start to turn golden around the edges; remove from oven and allow cookies to rest on pan until cool before transferring to a cooling rack.

8. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days (or freeze for longer storage).

Notes

• For best results, bake only one pan of cookies at a time and be sure the pan is completely cool before you use it for the next batch.

• The original recipe called for lard, but we didn’t have any lard in the pantry so we substituted an equal amount of unrefined coconut oil (solid, room temp - not melted). The result was a lighter cookie with slightly sweet coconut notes (we actually like them even better than the original). if you don’t care for the flavor of coconut, feel free to use refined coconut oil.

• For the holidays, Ma Bell would often sprinkle her peanut butter cookies with a little red or green sanding sugar before baking.