If there’s one cookbook on baking that should be in your library it’s “Midwest Made,” a collection of classic recipes attributed to the Midwestern food culture described as “Big, Bold Baking from the Heartland” by Shauna Sever.
I’ve made over 10 recipes in the book from pound cakes, pies, bar cookies and the one featured here, peanut butter cookies, which are the best I’ve ever had.
I reread the recipe several times because the cookie dough had no flour whatsoever. Instead it called for a few tablespoons of cornstarch and only four tablespoons of melted butter.
After I was sure that there wasn’t, a mistake in the recipe I carried on. It’s all peanut butter based, with 2 cups of creamy peanut butter; the author recommends Skippy (I used Jif) saying that more rarefied, natural peanut butters won’t work as well.
The stiff dough is made easily enough in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Its few ingredients include the cornstarch, vanilla extract, sugar, melted butter and 2 eggs (“refrigerator cold”). Because you don’t have to wait for butter to soften or room temperature eggs, the dough is quickly assembled.
Once it’s all mixed you take out about ¼ cup of dough, roll into a ball and then roll in sugar. Placed on baking sheets, the dough is then pressed down using an old-fashioned potato masher, which produces that little nobs that decorate the cookies.
