Ma Bell's Peanut Butter Cookies

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

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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.

Purple Sweet Potato Pie

I love baking pie for Thanksgiving, but I’m not really a pumpkin pie fan so I like to switch it up from year to year. This year I had decided to make a sweet potato pie for two reasons, 1) because I live in a southern state, and 2) because they’re super yummy!

So off I went to the grocery store to purchase the ingredients needed. I walked in and what was the very 1st thing I stumbled upon? PURPLE sweet potatoes! I had never seen, or even heard, of purple sweet potatoes before, and since I have a number of family members who go bonkers for anything and everything purple, I just knew I had to get them. Purple Sweet Potato Pie - What a fun addition to the holiday table!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• disposable food-safe gloves https://amzn.to/34uNggl

• food processor https://amzn.to/3sEOKwr

• large open star tip https://amzn.to/3BvGMdb

• large disposable pastry bags https://amzn.to/33xWWCK

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

• pure vanilla extract https://amzn.to/3ovS9fE

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Purple Sweet Potato Pie

makes 1 pie (9-inch)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

For the Pie Filling:

• 1 pound cooked and peeled purple sweet potatoes (see cooking directions below)

• 12 once can evaporated milk

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell (try my easy recipe here)

For the Meringue Topping:

• 2 egg whites, room temperature

• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

• big pinch of cream of tartar

• small pinch of fine salt

• 1/3 cup superfine sugar
  

Directions

To make the pie filling:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and place rack in lower center position.

2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine until completely smooth the peeled sweet potatoes, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs, butter, lemon juice, vanilla extract, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves; scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

3. Pour mixture into prepared pie shell; place on a sheet pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until set (a very slight giggle in the very center of the pie is fine).

4. Remove pie from oven and cool to room temperature before chilling in an airtight container for several hours (overnight is even better).

To make the meringue topping:

1. In a medium bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, place the egg whites, cream of tartar, vanilla bean paste, and salt; use a fork or whisk to mix the ingredients and break up the eggs until they're frothy.

2. Use a hand mixer or the whip attachment of a stand mixer to whip egg whites until they reach soft peaks; sprinkle sugar in slowly and continue whipping until the whites are glossy and they reach the stiff peak stage.

3. Place meringue in a large pastry bag fitted with a large round tip or large open star tip and pipe kisses around the top circumference of the pie; place under broiler for 2-3 minutes until meringue begins to brown on the edges, watching very carefully to prevent burning. Serve immediately.

Notes

• To bake purple sweet potatoes: wash potatoes and pierce with a knife or fork in several places to keep the potatoes from exploding in the oven. Place prepared potatoes in a baking dish and cover with foil; bake for 1 hour. Cool purple sweet potatoes, then peel skin off and discard - the skin should be easy to remove by hand or with a paring knife (you’ll definitely want to protect your hands with disposable gloves).

• DO NOT add meringue until just before serving - it’s highly hygroscopic and will become wet/watery if added too early.

• If you have a favorite sweet potato pie recipe, feel free to substitute purple sweet potatoes for the usual orange ones next time you make it.

• Topic for discussion at your next holiday gathering: Sweet Potatoes vs Yams. Although some people refer to sweet potatoes as yams, true yams are found in Africa and Asia. Just about every orange, yellow, and now purple-flesh “yam” sold in the US is actually a sweet potato.