Best Peanut Butter Cookies

• 3/4 cup unsifted flour (stir to aerate before measuring)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup salted Spanish peanuts with red skins on
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces

On waxed paper thoroughly stir together the flour and baking soda. In medium mixing bowl cream butter and peanut butter; beat in, one ingredient at a time, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture; mix well with a spoon. Stir in peanuts and chocolate pieces. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Press down with floured fork making criss-cross pattern; re-flour fork for each cookie. Bake in 350 degree oven until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Let cookies stand on pan about 1 minute, then with a wide metal spatula remove to wire racks to cool. Store in tightly covered tin box.

Yield: 4 dozen 2-inch cookies

Tatsue Miyasaki Nakamura, Class of 1948