Dorothy's Peanut Butter Cookies

As much as I love blogging and finding recipes online, I miss recipe cards.

Not necessarily the clutter of them, or losing them, or having a couple loose recipe cards fall every time I pull a cookbook down from the shelf and, not knowing what to do with them, I just stuff them back on the shelf so they can fall down again next time.  But I miss the handwriting, the little scribbled in recipe changes, the very feeling of knowing that same recipe card was lying on my grandmother's counter 30 years ago when she was making her own countless batches of peanut butter cookies. I can identify my grandmother's soft, extended cursive handwriting at a glance - I wonder if my grandbabies will ever get to know my own?

As noted on the recipe card (oh, how I love that green dress lady on there - I'm totally going to wear that myself to cook dinner someday), this is actually a recipe from my great aunt Dorothy Middaugh.  The cookies are crispy, a bit crumbly - I'd actually reduce the flour by a 1/2 cup next time I make them - but for the sake of history, I'm transcribing the ingredients exactly.  And as my mother (the next generation making this recipe) notes, don't overcrowd the baking sheet as they spread out.

Dorothy's Peanut Butter Cookies

1 c. shortening
1 c. creamy peanut butter
3/4 c. white sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
2 and 1/2 c. flour
1 and 1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla

Cream shortening and peanut butter together.  Add rest of the ingredients in order (I'd mix the soda, salt, and baking powder in with the flour first, avoiding any nasty soda clumps in your cookie dough).  Form into balls and mash with fork.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 mins. Makes about four dozen.