But first, a wee spot o' lunch was in order. I pulled out the airtight container in which I store my home-baked bread, made from Pamela's Amazing Bread Mix
Since our home is shared primarily between two people and I know it wasn't I who ate the good stuff inside this jar, there was no real mystery about where the goodness had gone. The surprise was this: I thought he didn't LIKE peanut butter until he recently bought his own jar at Whole Foods. So why did he devour MY chosen delicacy?
Pragmatism won out over analytics and I realized that Father's Day was almost upon us. Hey! My dad loves peanut butter. Apparently, Hubbers does too! Why not bake up a batch of peanut butter cookies as a Father's Day treat? I've been wanting to test the versatility of Pamela's Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix
So I changed my baking plan and went online to find a wholesome and simple recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies. I reviewed several and selected Mrs. Sigg's Peanut Butter Cookies from allrecipes.com (a local, Seattle-based, woman-owned business).
I took Mrs. Sigg's recipe and laid out the adaptations, checking to be sure I had all the necessary ingredients. I had a moment of mild panic thinking I would be short one egg, but a quick investigation revealed that all was well in the organic egg supply. I had more than enough local, organic butter, certified free of rGBH. I abstain from artificial flavors as much as possible, so I replaced the butter-flavored shortening with Spectrum Organic All Vegetable Shortening
The sugar was overly generous for my taste, so I cut that in half, then added back 1/2 Cup of Zero
Okay! Let's bake!
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Zero low glycemic sweetener
2 eggs
1 cup gluten free crunchy peanut butter
1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla extract
2.5 cups Pamela's Ultimate Baking & Pancake Mix
DIRECTIONS:
- Cream the butter, shortening and sweeteners. Add eggs and blend. Add peanut butter and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix until well-blended. (I did all the mixing with my handheld mixer and didn't need to break out the Kitchen Aid standing mixer at all.)
- Measure out tablespoonfuls of dough and roll into balls. Place 3 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. Flatten gently and imprint criss-cross pattern with fork.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees F, 10-12 minutes until set but not hard. Do not overbake. Leave on cookie sheets for 2 minutes after removing from oven. Then transfer to cooling racks, cool, and store in covered container. LOVE these!
As for Hubbers, he informed me that Peanut Butter Cookies are an "American" thing and that his British palate cannot appreciate the combination of sugar and peanut butter in any form! In that case, I'll be shipping his portion to my dad! Happy belated Father's Day!