Yums

Our neighbors Martha and Bob are a retired couple who moved here from Texas. They bought an old house and meticulously reconstructed it, making it more beautiful than it ever probably dreamed of being.

They included a HUGE gourmet kitchen in the remodel because Martha LOVES to bake. Cookies. My neighbor Martha is the queen of cookies. She makes cookies for every occasion, and leaves them on our doorstep. Fourth of July, Christmas, Halloween. Cookies, cookies, cookies. She is right up there with our Grandma Anna in the cookie department, which is saying A LOT about a person's talent.

She recently brought over the most delicious plate of Peanut Butter Cookies, which we ate in record time. They were unusually good, and she was kind enough to share the secret recipe. Here it is, with all of her notes (you can read them in a Texas accent, can't you?)

_____________________________________________________

These are the best peanut butter cookies I have ever put in my mouth, and by far the easiest-enjoy!

Quickest Peanut Butter Cookies (These have no flour in them, by the way)

2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chunky or smooth peanut butter (this measures exactly 18 ounces, if you have a kitchen scale)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; lightly grease cookie sheets.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and soda; stir in eggs and vanilla. Add peanut butter and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. (Mixture will stiffen as it is stirred.)

Form dough into balls using a small ice cream scoop, or form into 1-inch balls by rolling with your hands. Drop the dough balls about 3 inches apart on to the cookie sheets. If you wish, flatten slightly with the tines of a fork to make them look like peanut butter cookies. Bake in the 350 degree oven for around 12 minutes, or until the bottoms of cookies are golden brown. Ovens vary-my convection oven takes almost 15 minutes-a first batch is a good test. They need to be baked until they are not doughy in the center, anyway.

Let stand on cookie sheets for a minute, then transfer with a spatula to a cooling rack. I got about 3 1/2 dozen, using the small ice cream scoop to form the cookies.

_____________________________________________________

(My Note: She doesn't say how many you get if you stand at the counter and eat a bunch of the dough first. But if that happens, you will still get about 3 dozen :))