June 10, 2011

Award Winning Cookies

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Margaret's Morsels | Award Winning Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

I try not to post recipes from the same category close together.  However, I couldn't let National Peanut Butter Cookie Day, June 12, pass without sharing an award winning recipe for peanut butter cookies.


Just about everyone has a recipe for peanut butter cookies.  Most recipes use some combination of these ingredients:


Margaret's Morsels | Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies


The ingredients pictured above are what I used when I made peanut butter cookies using my mother's recipe.  They were good, but time consuming.


A dozen years ago, someone gave me a recipe for peanut butter cookies that uses these ingredients:


Margaret's Morsels | Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies


That's right, the recipe only uses three ingredients.  I was skeptical the cookies would be any good, but I filed the recipe anyway in my untried recipe box, never expecting to actually make them.


A couple of years later, I was asked to make eight dozen peanut butter cookies for the Kairos prison ministry.  I didn't have a lot of time so I decided to give the three ingredient peanut butter cookie recipe a try.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that, not only was the recipe good, it was better than my mother's recipe.  The recipe doesn't make a lot of cookies, but it's easy to double or triple if you need more cookies.


Combine the peanut butter, sugar and egg in a mixing bowl.  Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes so it's easier to handle.  Shape the dough into balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Make crisscross marks, pressing down on the dough with a fork in one direction and then in the other direction.  Crisscross marks, like jam on linzer cookies or cinnamon sugar on snickerdoodles, immediately identify the cookie as peanut butter. This is helpful, especially for anyone that is allergic to nuts.


Margaret's Morsels | Award Winning Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Put the cookie sheet in the oven and bake the cookies 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for one minute.  If you remove the cookies from the pan as soon as they come out of the oven, the cookies will crumble.  After one minute, the cookies are firm enough to transfer to a wire rack to cool.


If you're still skeptical, here's proof these are award winning cookies.  You know I love to cook, but what you don't know is I'm a competitive person. For a number of years, I entered culinary competitions at a regional fair held in my city.  The ribbons pictured below are the ones I have won in the peanut butter cookie category using this recipe.

Margaret's Morsels | Award Winning Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

There are variations of this recipe that include other ingredients, such as baking soda, salt and vanilla.  I made a batch for the fair one year adding a teaspoon of vanilla.  The consistency wasn't as smooth, the vanilla didn't improve the taste and the cookies didn't win a ribbon that year.


The cookies are easy to prepare, melt in your mouth and, unlike traditional peanut butter cookies, are gluten free.  Even if you don't enter these in a cooking contest, you're sure to win accolades from whoever is lucky enough to receive the cookies.


Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
28 Cookies

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Refrigerate 20 minutes so the dough is easier to handle.  Roll dough into 1-inch balls.  Place on ungreased baking sheet.  Press down with a fork to make crisscross marks.  Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes.  Let cookies cool on the pan for 1 minute before removing to wire rack.


© Margaret's Morsels

19 comments:

  1. I make these cookies they are the very best ever. I sprinkle with a little course sea salt. I love this recipe so does everyone that tries them. Dont be scared to try, you will be pleasantly suprised how easy and good these are.

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  2. I'm glad you like the cookies! Who would have thought such a simple recipe would make such delicious cookies? I'll have to try the sea salt the next time I make the cookies.

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  3. I'm excited to try these out! I might also want to add some roasted peanuts...this is also a great recipe to use as a base and add to! But I also like the simplicity :) nice work

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  4. Love the idea of using the recipe as a base and adding ingredients. The roasted peanuts sound fabulous! Thanks for writing.

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  5. Very shortly this web page will be famous amid all blog users, due to it's pleasant posts

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  6. I just made these and they are Awesome. I drizzled half of mine with chocolate...cause that's how I roll. It did add a little "something". :)

    Thank you for posting this!!!

    Lynette

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    1. You're welcome, Lynette! I'm glad you liked the cookies!!!! The chocolate drizzle sounds delicious, especially since my favorite culinary combination is chocolate and peanut butter. Thanks for taking time to send in a comment (and a great suggestion).

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  7. I'm definitely intrigued by these cookies! So many times, simple recipes taste the best since they really let the ingredients shine through. I bet these are amazing!

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    1. Thanks, Lauren! I laugh about it now, but I can't believe it took me so long to try the recipe. Just goes to show that more ingredients doesn't necessarily mean a recipe is better!

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  8. Well these sound simply amazing

    Would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, and tips: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/

    Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

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    1. Thanks, Jess! I'll stop by and share this later today. Thanks for hosting another great party!

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  9. Your Peanut Butter Cookies look wonderful, Margaret! This recipe sounds fantastic and I love that it only has three ingredients. Thank you for sharing with us at the Hearth and Soul Hop.

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    1. Thanks, April! Thanks for hosting another great party:)

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  10. Your cookies are featured this evening at the Friday Favorites Linky Party! Congratulations.

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    1. Thanks, Amy!!!! Thanks for hosting another great party!

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  11. Can I use the reduced fat peanut butter in this recipe? I was also wondering about using Simply Jif. They look wonderful and I sure do like easy! I found this recipe recently on a home shopping channel board. One of the ladies there says it's the best peanut butter cookie recipe ever. I can't wait to try it. Thanks!

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    1. Hi Lisa! I don't know why you couldn't use reduced fat peanut butter in the recipe. The cookies might not be as tender without all the fat, but they should still be good. From what I know about Simply Jif, it's made with less sugar and sodium. Again, I think it would be fine in the cookies, especially since the cookies use a cup of sugar. Please let me know how the cookies turn out. Thanks for the question!

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    2. Thank you so much, Margaret. I'll give it a try and let you know. Thank you for this wonderful looking recipe!

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