Southern Summer Series: Just A Few Miles South: #7: Ladies Who Lunch Eat Hot Chicken Salad!

Every summer I like to chose a cookbook or a special focus and do a summer cooking series. Some of the summer series that I've done in the past are: popsicles; ice creams; cookies; salads; and healthy recipes. One series I've always wanted to do is a series of southern summer recipes. So, this summer I chose a local cookbook from James Beard Nominee, Ouita Michel. Each week I will be cooking recipes from Ouita's Just A Few Miles South Cookbook.  

If you live in The South and you're a lady who lunches, then you are MOST DEFINITELY going to be eating chicken salad. You're going to be eating it cold on salads, croissants, toast points, and as tiny little tea sandwiches. You're gonna be eating all the different versions: cubed chicken and shredded chicken, chicken salad with fruit, chicken salad without fruit, chicken salad with nuts and without nuts. Chicken salad will be served on cucumber slices, apple and pear slices, and in celery. And just when you think chicken salad CANNOT be served in any other way, it will be served HOT!

Yes, you read that right, HOT. Paula Deen has a version where chicken salad is baked with crumbled potato chips on top and my cookbook, Just A Few Miles South by Ouita Michel, has a Hot Chicken Salad consisting of: chopped chicken, wild rice, white rice, sliced water chestnuts, cream cheese, mayo, white Cheddar cheese, sour cream, red onion, diced celery, and salt and pepper, to taste.

So look...I would be remiss if I didn't include some type of chicken salad in my Southern Summer Series and I'm surprised I've made it to week #7 without it, BUT here we are, Ouita Michel's Hot Chicken Salad. BECAUSE...there is just absolutely no stopping us with Every.Single.Version. of Chicken Salad down in the South. If one thing is for sure, we ladies down South will be eating chicken salad for lunch.  

And let me just tell you now...this version is so delicious it should come with a warning! The creaminess of the chicken, with the crunch of the water chestnuts, and the golden brown crispy bits along the edge of the casserole... this is chicken salad heaven! It's truly a must make dish!

Hot Chicken Salad

Adapted from Just A Few Miles South

by Ouita Michel

Makes 14-16 servings

3-1/2 cups chopped cooked turkey

3/4 cup dry wild rice, cooked according to package directions

1/2 cup white rice, cooked according to package directions

2 (8-ounce) cans sliced water chestnuts, drained and rinsed

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 cups mayonnaise

2 cups shredded white Cheddar cheese

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup minced red oinon

1 cup small-diced celery

1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

1 teaspoon white pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a deep 13x9" pan with nonstick spray. Set aside. 

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until well blended. Pour into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly. Bake 45-60 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling around the edges and hot in the middle. It's pretty much a rule that you have to serve this with a nice green salad on the side.  

Southern Summer Series: Just A Few Miles South

 

Southern Summer Series: Just A Few Miles South #1 {Ale-8-One Sloppy Joes and Wallace Station Red Bliss Potato Salad}

Every summer I like to chose a cookbook or a special focus and do a summer cooking series. Some of the summer series that I've done in the past are: popsicles; ice creams; cookies; salads; and healthy recipes. One series I've always wanted to do is a series of southern summer recipes. So, this summer I chose a local cookbook from James Beard Nominee, Ouita Michel. Each week I will be cooking recipes from Ouita's Just A Few Miles South Cookbook. 

 

Chef Ouita has six restaurants in the Lexington, Kentucky area where I happen to live. The restaurants range from upscale to down home and locals simply love everything she does. Ouita uses local ingredients, something I am passionate about. Recipes focus on old vintage southern recipes, as well as modern twists on new southern favorites. All of the recipes have a Bluegrass Kentucky vibe.

First up we have an Ale-8-One Sloppy Joe served alongside some Wallace Station Red Bliss Potato Salad. Now, if you're native to central Kentucky you know that Ale-8-One is a ginger ale type soda created in Winchester, Kentucky back in the 1920's. The soda was an entry in the Clark County Fair in 1926 and the name Ale-8-One was chosen through a naming contest at the fair. In the 1920's a slang term for "the latest thing" was simply "A Late One." If you're familiar with the Kentucky drawl, you know how easy "A Late One" can be Ale-8-One. This soda is still made and bottled in Winchester, Kentucky and it has quite a following. If you don't have Ale-8-One in your area you can always use ginger ale.

Back in the 1980's Sloppy Joes were everywhere. If you found yourself at a cookout, a potluck, or a backyard birthday party the chances were you'd be eating some Sloppy Joe! Back in those days a lot of people bought a can of Manwich and called it a day. For these Ale-8-One Sloppy Joes Chef Ouita crafts a careful combination of several ingredients: Kentucky beef; onion; garlic; flour; ketchup; Ale-8-One; tomato paste; tomato sauce; apple cider vinegar; Worcestershire sauce; honey; dry mustard; chili powder; and finally, salt and pepper. All of this gets cooked together to make one very delicious and quite classic Ale-8-One Sloppy Joe. Do you taste the Ale-8-One? Not necessarily, but it does provide a liquid base to help cook down all the other ingredients and meld the flavors together. On a toasted bun, this Ale-8-Sloppy Joe was milder than the Manwich all of us old-timers know and love. Ouita's Sloppy Joe is definitely a step above and we really enjoyed it with some Ale-8-One on the side.

Next up, is Ouita's Wallace Station Red Bliss Potato Salad (image of her Wallace Station restaurant above located in beautiful horse country). You simply cannot go wrong here. This is a classic potato salad made with red potatoes. The potatoes boil until tender then get doused with a dressing of mayo, Dijon mustard, celery, red onion, a splash of water, and salt and pepper. This is a really great classic potato salad and we loved it very much, especially on the first day. I would recommend making this and eating it on the day of. On the second day, the red onion flavor was more pronounced and it was still good, but it did get a very pronounced oniony flavor.

It was a great first roundup of Just A Few Miles South recipes. Next week is sure to bring another Bluegrass favorite! Over the summer I hope to get some in person pictures of her restaurants and food and maybe do a few side-by-side shots of her dishes in the dishes versus my dishes at home!

 See ya'll next week!

Ale-8-One Sloppy Joes

Adapted from Just A Few Miles South

by Ouita Michel

Serves 6-8

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

1 medium onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)

1 clove garlic, minced

1-1/2 tablespoons flour

2/3 cup ketchup

1/2 cup 

Ale-8-One

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1-1/2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

salt to taste

6-8 sturdy burger buns

Note: This makes about 1 quart of sloppy joe mixture.

Brown ground beef, onion, and garlic in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Remove from the stove and carefully drain excess fat. Return pan to medium heat and stir in flour. Cook about 2 minutes, then stir in remaining ingredients. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes. To make the mixture extra sloppy, add more Ale-8-One. Taste for seasoning. Remove from heat and allow the sloppy joe mixture to rest about 5 minutes before serving, which helps it tighten up. Serve warm on buns.  

Wallace Station Red Bliss Potato Salad

Adapted from Just A Few Miles South

by Ouita Michel

Makes 2 quarts 

Serves 12-16

3 pounds small red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed and eyes removed

1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 cup finely chopped celery

1 cup finely chopped red onion

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 cups mayonnaise

1 tablespoon water

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place potatoes in a small stockpot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil. Simmer about 13 minutes, or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife. Drain and cool slightly. Cut potatoes in a medium dice, add remaining ingredients, and mix thoroughly. Taste for seasoning. Chill at least 30 minutes before serving. 

Summer Series: Just A Few Miles South #1
 

Attention All Pickle Lovers: Hot Dogs with Pickle Slaw! {You Need It At Your Next Cookout}!

If you want to level up your next cookout, whip up a batch of this Pickle Slaw and you'll have all the pickle lovers swooning! Why stop at plain ol' relish when you can whip up a batch of pickle slaw with relish and cabbage for double the crunch!

It's really easy as pie. What a minute. Pie isn't really easy, but this pickle slaw is! You just need a couple cups of very thinly sliced green cabbage. Put it in a bowl and add fresh chopped dill, a couple tablespoons of sweet relish, a couple tablespoons of dill relish, olive oil, red wine vinegar, dill pickle juice, some honey, and finally some salt and pepper to taste. Mix up this zingy fresh slaw and let the flavors meld for about an hour, or as long as you can.

Grill up some hot dogs, put them in a nice soft buttery brioche bun, and dress with pickle slaw, ketchup, and mustard. The pickle slaw is somewhat mild in flavor, adding some zip but not a punch. The pickle slaw lends a freshness to the hot dog that is real nice, light, and summery! We really loved the pickle slaw and could see adding it to BBQ sandwiches, burgers, steak, chicken.  The sky really is the limit with this pickle slaw! It's even good on it's own.

 If you're a pickle lover, or you know a pickle lover, give it a try this season!

Pickle Slaw

Adapted from How Sweet Eats blog

Yields 2.5 cups

 4 cups thinly sliced green cabbage, very thinly sliced

1/4 cup fresh chopped dill

3 tablespoons sweet relish

2 tablespoons dill relish

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons dill pickle juice

1 teaspoon honey

salt and pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, combine the cabbage and dill with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Whisk together the relishes, olive oil, vinegar, pickle juice and honey. Pour over the cabbage and toss well to combine. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed. This stays great in the fridge for a day - you can also make it a fewh ours ahead of time and refrigerate, then bring it out for a party.

NOTE: Pickle slaw would be great for any BBQ or cookout! It's incredible on hot dogs and burgers, pulled chicken or pork, tacos, steak, and sky is the limit!

For The Picnic @ IHCC!
 

 

Half Baked Harvest's Pesto Zuppa Toscana Meatballs {So Comforting}

 Who doesn't love a giant casserole full of cheesy flavorful meatballs? Why haven't I made these before?

I was checking my email at work when I saw the recipe for these meatballs and I immediately stopped what I was doing to write down the list of ingredients so I could make them asap!

I could hardly wait to tuck into these meatballs in a creamy and flavorful sauce of onions, garlic, fresh herbs, sun-dried tomato pesto, cream, and broth. The sauce is thick and creamy and the flavor is just on point.

 

Then you top the meatballs and sauce with mozzarella cheese and bake! It is the perfect dish  for those comfort food cravings you are having right now! Serve this with pasta or bread, either way it is delicious. I will be making this on repeat all winter long. So yummy!

 

Pesto Zuppa Toscana Meatballs

Adapted from Half Baked Harvest

by Tieghan Gerard

Serves 4-6

1 pound ground spicy Italian chicken sausage*

1/2 pound ground chicken, turkey or pork* 

1/2 cup panko

1/4 cup grated Parmesa

1 egg

3 teaspoons Italian seasoning, divided

1 yellow onion, sliced

2 tablespoons fresh thyme*

2 cups finely shredded kale

1/3 cup pesto*

3/4 cup heavy cream or whole milk

1 cup broth

2 tablespoons lemon juice*

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

*Note: I made a few changes to these meatballs, namely using all ground turkey (because it's what I had on hand. I also subbed fresh basil for fresh thyme, omitted the kale (I didn't have any), used sundried tomato pesto instead of basil pesto, and omitted the lemon juice. I also want to mention that you might need to cook the meatballs in batches, unless your pan is huge.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Add the sausage, chicken, panko, parmesan, egg, and 1 teaspoons Italian seasoning to a bowl. Mix until just combined. Roll into meatballs and place each in a skillet. Add the onions to the skillet.

Set the skillet over medium heat, then cook the meatballs for 5 minutes, turning them 2-3 times, until crisp. Add the garlic, thyme, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, kale and pesto. Pour over the cream, broth, and lemon juice. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat. Add the mozzarella, then bake until the cheese is melted, 10 minutes.

Spooktacular @ I Heart Cooking Clubs!
 

Ina Garten's Easy Sticky Buns {An Easy and Fun Autumn Treat}!

Ina Garten's Easy Sticky Buns are the epitome of easy. There is no need to make any dough because you simply use puff pastry. Puff pastry is so easy to work with and the recipe comes together in no time.

First you make a mixture of butter and brown sugar and smear it into the bottom of a muffin tin. The butter and brown sugar mixture is topped with chopped nuts - feel free to use any nut you have. The recipe called for pecans, but I had walnuts so I used those!

Then you roll out the puff pastry dough, brush it with melted butter and top that with brown sugar and cinnamon. At this point you can add raisins or really anything else you'd like. I chose to forego the raisins.

Then you roll the dough up lengthwise and cut each roll into sixths. Place each sixth on top of the butter and brown sugar mixture with the nuts and bake!

I would advise to watch these closely. The butter and brown sugar mixture will rise up around the puff pastry and you don't want it to over cook or it will become to hard and sticky and start to take on a burnt sugar flavor. Ina says to bake these for 25-30 minutes, but I found that just under 20 minutes was the right amount of time for my oven!

These rolls are in fact sticky and delicious. Fair warning though, they are not a soft cinnamon roll sort of pastry. Instead they are buttery, flaky, crispy, sticky and almost verging on too sweet. Which reminds me to point out that you could do with using less brown sugar, especially if you don't like desserts that are cloyingly sweet. Otherwise, they are delicious and fun to make!

Easy Sticky Buns

Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa

by Ina Garten

Serves 12

12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) butter, at room temp

1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup pecans, chopped in large pieces*

1 package (2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted)

For the Filling:

2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

2/3 cups light brown sugar, light packed

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup raisins* 

*Note: You can make this recipe with nuts and without nuts. With raisins and without raisins. You can use pecans or walnuts, or use any nut. The point is, feel free to tuck any nut or dried fruit in this mixture. You could even sub chocolate chips or caramel chips. Make it your own!

Preheat the oven to 400F. Place a 12 cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 12 tablespoons of butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 tablespoon of the mixture in bottom of each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly between the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold one sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with half the melted butter, leaving a 1 inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1/2 cup of raisins (if using). Starting with the end nearest to you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam-side down. Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2 inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second piece of puff pastry.I

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the buns/rolls are golden brown on top and firm to the touch. Be careful- they're hot! Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and nuts out onto the buns with a small spoon) and cool completely! Enjoy!

September Potluck @ I Heart Cooking Clubs!
 

American Cookie #10: {The Early 1990's Viral Neiman Marcus $250 Cookie} + The Final Rating For all 10 American Cookies!

 

Each week, I'm going to be highlighting a new American Cookie and sharing its history, as well as my results. This is the tenth week of baking with American Cookie by Anne Bryn, and I'm sharing The Early 1990's Viral Neiman Marcus $250 Cookie! This cookie brings us into the modern era of cookies, and while I will be making more cookies from this book, this is the end of the American Cookie series for now! 

The History of The Neiman Marcus $250 Cookie: Well, we all know the history of this cookie, right? This recipe went viral back before the internet! The urban legend says that a woman was dining at the Neiman Marcus Cafe in Dallas, TX and ordered a dessert after a dinner - the Neiman Marcus cookie! The woman thought the cookie was so amazing she asked for the recipe. She was told it was "two fifty" and it was the early 1990's, so she agreed. When she received her VISA statement a month later, she'd been charged $285 - $10 each for two salads, $20 for a scarf and $250 for the famous cookie recipe. The woman was rightfully angry and published the recipe, making its rounds in magazines, newspapers, chain letters, and plain old-fashioned word of mouth. Some say this story is nothing but a legend, but I tend to think it's probably true. I mean where there's smoke there's fire, right? 

Either way, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies were immensely popular in the late 1980's and early 1990's and this cookie has both oatmeal and two different types of chocolate: milk chocolate and semisweet. Plus, it has nuts...you can chose, walnuts or pecans!

My Results: This is essentially an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie with nuts and while I really enjoyed it, it is not my favorite oatmeal chocolate chip recipe. I do like how the edges get crisp while the interior of the cookie stays chewy. I also like the two different types of chocolate, which added a deeper dimension of chocolatey flavor. The nuts were a nice addition, adding extra crunch and a touch of saltiness, but overall I prefer my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies without nuts. I am, however, very happy to have finally tried this recipe, especially since I've been hearing about it ever since I was a teenager! It was a fun recipe to make for that reason!

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5! A really good solid oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, one that anyone would be happy to eat and enjoy! This recipe is truly good, but in the grand scheme of things, it is a busy cookie with the oats and the two chocolates and the nuts. Plus the cookie is crisper than we normally like. Our favorite is a really fat and thick oatmeal chocolate chip recipes from Ruth Reichl's The Gourmet Cookbook. Saying all that, this recipe is a very good cookie and certainly one that I will be proud to share with family and friends.

I'm going to be rating all the cookies with the five-star format, one-star being the lowest and five-star being the highest! 

The Final Rating For All 10 Cookies, from Best to Least Favorite:

First I'd like to say that baking these cookies and learning the history taught me so much and has been such a fun journey! My cookie venture began with the very first known American Cookie, the Dutch Tea Cookie dating to the early 1600's and ended with a more modern cookie, The Neiman Marcus $250 Cookie from the early 1990's. The history of cookies and baking in America is quite fascinating and it was fun to see how ingredients progressed over time. I would wholeheartedly recommend Anne Bryn's cookbook, American Cookie to anyone who loves baking and/or history! The recipes were all fantastic, with the exception of one, and I think any baker would love the book. There are hundreds of other recipes and this is certainly not the last you'll see of the book here on my blog. Saying that, we are quite worn out on cookies and have been eating one or two and happily giving them to family and friends for some time now. 

It was very hard to rate them all, but we did our best. Family and friends who have tasted and tested all the cookies are in agreement with the number one cookie and the two lowest rated cookies, but the other recipes in the middle fluctuated depending on who you asked. I did my best to rank them according to popular opinion, but ultimately I ordered them best I could. Most of us preferred a chewy or softer cookie and that played into the ranking a lot. We also seemed to also prefer a more basic and simple recipe, finding loaded cookies and cookies with lots of ingredients more towards the bottom of the list.

And now for the ranking! (Click on any bold recipe title to be directed back to the original post)!

1) Ruth Wakefield's 1930's Era Chocolate Crunch (Chip) Cookies - This is probably the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I've ever made and I even made these gluten free the first time around. These were my family's favorite and I've made them every week since!

2) 1727 Ursuline Anise Cookies - I made this cookie because it originated in New Orleans at the Ursuline Convent (which I've visited) and I LOVE New Orleans! I don't even like anise, but this cookie was the surprise of the bunch! Soft and chewy, with a slight anise-flavor that was so very subtle and pleasant, and the icing was just delicious. This is a new all-time favorite that will be made over and over in my kitchen.

 

3) 1886 Vanilla Wafer Cookies  -  These cookies smell intoxicating while baking in the oven and had the whole house smelled of vanilla. They taste like vanilla cake straight out of the oven when they're warm, but as they cool they firm up and make great ice cream cookie sandwiches. We really loved these, devoured them, and want to make them again and use them for a homemade banana pudding! I also want to make the Chocolate Wafer Cookies from the book.

4) Dutch Tea Cookies (Oldest Cookie in America, circa 1609-1664) - This was the first cookie in America and also the first cookie I made in the American Cookie series. Four ingredients: butter, sugar, flour, and water - no egg or leavening. Surprisingly delicious when you think about how simple the cookie is. These were akin to a shortbread cookie, crisp on the edges and soft in the center and I can see how they would pair very well with tea. I bet they were very popular back in the times!

 

5) 1891 Snickerdoodle Cookies  - Simplicity is beginning to be a key factor in rating these cookies and these were one of my husband's favorites. He loved how soft they were and the subtle flavor of the cinnamon and sugar. He wanted me to rate these higher, but this is after all my list.

 

6) 1917 WWI Era Banana Drop Cookies - These cookies are like eating soft chewy banana bread in cookie form. We gobbled them up very quickly. Plus, this was one of my favorite history stories.

7) Early 1990's Viral Nieman Marcus $250 Cookie - This is a great cookie, but it was a little too busy for us to be a top favorite. We decided that if we wanted a chocolatey cookie, we wanted a plain old chocolate chip cookie. However, if you love a crisper oatmeal chocolate chip cookie with nuts, then this would be a top recipe for you!

8) 1961 School Lunch Peanut Butter Cookies - We love peanut butter cookies, and this was a good, solid recipe but it was also more on the subtle side. The peanut butter flavor wasn't very pronounced. I had a batch of these and a batch of Ruth Wakefield's Chocolate Crunch Cookies at the same time and everyone kept going for the Chocolate Crunch Cookie. 

9) Revolutionary War Era Joe Frogger Cookies (aka Molasses Spice Cookie) - This was a good solid cookie recipe, if you like Molasses Spice Cookies. I knew I had to include this recipe as molasses spice cookies are a HUGE part of cookie history. We ate them and enjoyed them, but I knew going into it that this wouldn't be a favorite based on our personal taste. We simply don't care much for spice cookies or desserts.

 

10) 1939 Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - I never thought this recipe would end up at the very bottom of the list, but it sure did. This was the only cookie recipe from the book that I didn't care for. The cookies came out too oatemealy, were tough, and just didn't have the right amount of sugar. We didn't care for them at all, which is a shame because an oatmeal raisin cookie is up there on the list for me! 

and now back to the recipe for...The Viral Neiman Marcus $250 Cookie!

The Neiman Marcus $250 Cookies

Adapted from American Cookie

by Anne Byrn

Makes 7 to 8 dozen 2" cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-1/2 cups old-fashioned oats*

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

4 ounces semisweet or milk chocolate, grated

1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans

Notes: Old-fashioned oats are called for in this recipe and that is why you pulse them in the food processor to break down the oats into a flour-like texture. If you have quick-cooking oats on hand that is okay too. Just skip the step of pulsing and add them straight to the dough. Additionally, the author suggests you can use any kind of chocolate in this recipe, but I stuck with the chocolate as written in the recipe, using a mix of semisweet and milk chocolate and I have to say I do think it yields a more flavorful cookie.

Place a rack in the top third of the oven and preheat the oven to 375F. Set aside 2 ungreased baking sheets (I use parchment paper).

Place the soft butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn of the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, and add the eggs and vanilla. Beat on low speed until combined and smooth, 1 minute.

In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, pulse the oats until finely ground, 10 to 15 seconds. Transfer the oatmeal to a medium-size bowl and add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine the dry ingredients, and dump the oatmeal-flour mixture into the bowl with the batter. Beat on low speeds until just combined, 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Fold in the chocolate chips, grated chocolate, and nuts. Drop the batter by heaping 1" tablespoonfuls, 2" apart on the baking sheets. Place in the oven.

Bake the cookies until they just begin to crisp around the edges but are still a little soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Let rest on the pan for 1 minute, then transfer with a metal spatula to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough. Store the cookies in an airtight container. 

 

American Cookie #9: {1961 School Lunch Peanut Butter Cookies}

Each week, I'm going to be highlighting a new American Cookie and sharing its history, as well as my results. This is the ninth week of baking with American Cookie by Anne Bryn, and I'm sharing School Lunch Peanut Butter Cookies with a recipe from 1961!

The History of the School Lunch Peanut Butter Cookies: Peanut butter cookies didn't happen overnight. Peanut butter was invented in the 1890's and George Washington Carver spent the 1920's sharing the benefits of both peanuts and peanut butter. However, it took hard times, the war years and the Depression, for peanut butter to catch on as a source of protein and B vitamins.

In the 1930's farmers faced very hard times, financial ruin and the prices on commodities were collapsing. Parents were out of work and their children were hungry. The US Government stepped in to help through a federally supported lunch program. The government purchased surplus crops to feed the kids a hot meal, but they also employed thousands of women to cook in the lunchrooms.

These peanut butter cookies were perfect for the lunch program because they used lower cost vegetable shortening instead of butter and they could be baked in bulk. They could also be stored at room temperature. They became a staple at public school lunchrooms as well as private. 

In 1961, the Chicago Tribune featured the cafeteria manager of the Catholic Marquette Park School and they found a favorite peanut butter cookie recipe being baked for 1,300 girls by Sister Mary Trinita. The recipe shared here is that very recipe! 

My Results: The cookies were easy to make and the good news is, I had all the ingredients on hand and I bet you do too! The cookies have a subtle peanut butter flavor and aren't too sweet so I can see why they would be perfect for a school lunch. The cross hatch pattern allows the cookies to spread out to be thin and flat, making for a crisper cookie than what I typically like. I did enjoy these and they are quite good, but with their subtle peanut butter flavor they weren't my favorite all-time peanut butter recipe.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5! Good, solid recipe, perfect for the masses. Keeps well for days and stores well, subtle, good recipe. Nothing wrong, but could have a more pronounced peanut butter flavor and a chewier texture.

I'm going to be rating all the cookies with the five-star format, one-star being the lowest and five-star being the highest!

School Lunch Peanut Butter Cookies

Adapted from American Cookie

by Anne Bryn

Makes about 4 dozen

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus about 2 tablespoons for pressing into the top of cookies

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1-1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Place a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 375F. Set aside 2 ungreased baking sheets.

Place the peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium-low speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla and egg, and beat on medium-low until the mixture is smooth, about 45 seconds. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Whisk together the sifted flour, soda, and salt in a medium-size bowl and turn this into the peanut butter mixture. Beat with the mixer on low speed until the dry ingredients are just incorporated, 45 seconds to 1 minute.

Drop the dough in 1" pieces spaced about 3" apart on the pans. Press the top of each ball twice with a fork dipped in the remaining granulated sugar, creating a crosshatch pattern. Place one pan at a time in the oven.

Bake the cookies until lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies rest on the pan for 1 minute, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.