Cookie Peace

Baking for the girls' lunches is part of the school year tradition in our house. Honestly cooking in this kitchen? Not so fun, but the girls love it. I like to think that it's one of the things from their childhood that they'll remember fondly. Also, they like to share the goods with their friends. I don't know if you know this, but apparently baking is a lost art. And baking in this house means from scratch. More work? Sure! Worth it? Well, look at the kind of love and admiration the real thing inspires:

Dear Mrs. Kershner,

I absolutely loved the cookies you

made. Seriously something that

good could bring world peace.

Sincerely,

Drew Smith

Now you wanna bake something from scratch, don't you? World peace? I'm considering contacting the president with this important discovery.

This week we'll be munching on these.

Jen's Favorite Peanut Butter Cookies
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup oats (I've used both quick and old fashioned with good results)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream together shortening, butter, sugars and peanut butter til smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time until well blended. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir into creamed mixture. Mix in the oats just until combined. Use cookie scoop and drop cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for about 13 mins til edges are just browning. Do not overbake. Let cool for 6-8 mins then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.