Well, it’s that time of year again, usually the only time I bake cookies since the temptation would be too much for Hubby D and me if those delectable morsels were available year round. Besides, this Christmas season #1 son M and family will be joining us so we have to feed them something besides turkey and dressing and tiramisu and my old standby, ravioli, which true to my earlier blog/confession, we will be serving for an extended family gathering between the holidays.

As for my yearly cookie projects, they are the occasional hit and miss—just ask Hubby D. Humph, him and his years of managing a high-end bakery, the jewel in the crown of a now defunct department store that once reigned supreme in the St. Louis area. As for my domain—the Giacoletto home kitchen—there is one cookie that rarely fails me, one I feel compelled to make each year. This particular recipe for peanut butter cookies came from my Aunt D who passed it on to my mother and later to me. Where Aunt D got the recipe, I have no idea; but each year when I start assembling the ingredients I think of Aunt D’s kitchen where something was always cooking on the stove or baking in the oven. And then I think of my mother’s kitchen where something on the stove or in the oven was limited to weekends only since Mother held down a fulltime job outside the home, at a time when very few moms did.

In the interest of full disclosure of my growing-up years, I should add that I stayed as far away from my mother’s kitchen as possible, opting instead for the clean-up detail which she gladly relinquished to me. Little did I know then how marriage and five always-hungry children would drastically change my perspective. That’s life or so it’s called.

Of course, over the years I’ve fiddled with the original peanut butter cookie recipe to where it now feels more like mine, but the basic ingredients remain the same and will produce the kind of cookie that invites you to pop one in your mouth and then another and another.

Peanut Butter Etcetera Cookies
Loretta Giacoletto

This recipe makes about 7 dozen cookies, depending on their size
Prior to baking, pre-heat oven to 325F degrees

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1cup softened butter
½ cup softened peanut butter
(I prefer super crunchy. Or, replace peanut butter with ½ cup butter)
2 large eggs

½ t salt
2 cups flour
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda

2 cups oatmeal (I prefer old-fashioned rolled oats)
1 cup corn flakes

12 oz bag of butterscotch chips
Or
12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Or
6 oz each, butterscotch chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream together:
Sugars, butter, peanut butter, and eggs
(I prefer using a heavy-duty stand mixer but a hand-held one would also work.
Or, for those of you with arms of steel, mix by hand with your tool of choice.)

Combine with whisk or sifter:
Salt, flour, baking powder, and baking soda

Add dry ingredients to the creamed ingredients and mix well.

Add oatmeal, combine well.
Add cornflakes, combine well.

Add butterscotch or chocolate chips,
Or divide cookie batter in half and add half bag of each chip to mixture.

Divide mixture into workable sections and
Roll each section into a log (about 1.5” diameter)
Chill logs until firm and easy to cut with a sharp knife
Cut logs ½ inch slices and place on cookie sheets
Bake in pre-heated 325F oven about 12 minutes or
Until the cookies are light brown on the bottom.

Store in cookie tins (add orange slice, apple quarter, or piece of bread to keep fresh)
Or,
Place in plastic freezer bags and store in fridge or freezer.
Enjoy!
So, what about you? Any recipes from long ago you’d like to share?