Black Eyed Susans

Not long after my new kitchen floor was in, I drove to Escondido for my granddaughter's dance recital in which she was fabulous (of course).  On my return trip to Mammoth, #2 son, Tim (do I sound like Charlie Chan?)  came with me to see what was wrong with my spa heater.  There was concern that I might need a new heater or pump but he managed to fix the problem in a matter of minutes.  I had brought a paint sample to redo my kitchen cabinets and Tim took over that project.  

While he was here, I made one of his favorite cookies- Black Eyed Susans.  They will be a featured dessert recipe  in my proposed cookbook, Wild and Restless in the Kitchen.  It is proposed to be a beginner/intermediate cookbook for young men.  Black Eyed Susans are the easiest cookie imaginable.  I make the dough with my stand mixer and used a star template in my cookie gun.  One batch makes about 100 cookies.  When I suggested taking a few to my neighbors,  Tim thought we might not have enough left. 

The recipe was given to me when I was about 16 years old on a trip to Iowa when we visited my

mother's cousin, Floy Maxwell who was a fabulous cook.  

Black Eyed Susans

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 scant teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Semi-sweet chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix butter with sugars until well blended.
• Add egg and vanilla and mix into dough.
• Add peanut butter and mix into dough.
• Add flour, baking soda, and salt and thoroughly blend. 
• Using a cookie press with a star design, press cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  
• Place 1 chocolate chip in the center of each cookie.  Bake until set, about 10 minutes.