History is a great teacher, it often tells us how things were originally made and how we can sometimes make them better!
I was researching — as I do periodically — how to make a better peanut butter cookie. Famous Amos had many variations on that theme , but I wanted to use the almond butter. Almonds have a very subtle flavor and like vanilla, the smell of almonds is stronger that the taste. In using almonds, it is key to not allow other flavors to over power them, especially if you want to make a cookie.
George Washington Carver came up with a variety of suggestions on how to use peanuts ( after the cotton crop had been affected), including cookies:
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NO. 17, PEANUT COOKIES NUMBER ONE
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sweet milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 11/2 cups ground peanuts
Cream butter and sugar; add eggs well beaten; now add the milk and flour; flavor to taste with vanilla; and the peanuts last; drop one spoonful to the cooky in well greased pans; bake quickly.
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It doesn’t take a trained eye to notice a few changes we would like to make before using this recipe today. For example, the modern palette expects a sweeter cookie and with almonds I would use brown sugar, heavy cream, double the baking powder ( some might add some soda) and I would add salt.
Here’s what I tried…
3 cups flour
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups almond butter
1 teaspoon salt
BAKE: 350 degrees F for 17 minutes or until done
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Roger