 Peanut butter cookies withpeanut chunks | |
| Type | Cookie |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United States |
| Main ingredients | Peanut butter |
Apeanut butter cookie is a type ofcookie that is distinguished for havingpeanut butter as a principal ingredient. The cookie originated in the United States, its development dating back to the 1910s.
George Washington Carver (1864–1943), an Americanagricultural extension educator, from Alabama'sTuskegee Institute, was the most well known promoter of thepeanut as a replacement for thecotton crop, which had been heavily damaged by theboll weevil. He compiled 105 peanut recipes from variouscookbooks, agricultural bulletins, and other sources. In his 1925 research bulletin calledHow to Grow the Peanut and 105 Ways of Preparing it for Human Consumption, he included three recipes for peanut cookies calling for crushed or chopped peanuts.[1]
It was not until the early 1930s thatpeanut butter was listed as an ingredient in the cookies.
Early peanut butter cookies were either rolled thin and cut into shapes, or else they were dropped and made into balls; they did not havefork marks. The first reference to the famous criss-cross marks created with fork tines was published in theSchenectady Gazette on July 1, 1932. ThePeanut Butter Cookies recipe said: "[s]hape into balls and after placing them on the cookie sheet, press each one down with a fork, first one way and then the other, so they look like squares on waffles."[2]
Pillsbury, one of the largeflour producers, popularized the use of a fork in the 1930s. ThePeanut Butter Balls recipe in the 1933 edition ofPillsbury's Balanced Recipes instructed the cook to press the cookies using fork tines. These early recipes do not explain why the advice is given to use a fork, though. The reason is that peanut butter cookie dough is dense, and unpressed, each cookie will not cook evenly. Using a fork to press the dough is a convenience of tool; bakers can also use a cookie shovel (spatula).
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