A Morsel of What She Taught Me - peanut butter cookies

I love experimenting in the kitchen and the more I do it, the more comfortable I get with making mistakes. As a child, I would stand with my tippy toes stretching and my head straining to see exactly what my grandmother would be orchestrating. She was ALWAYS cooking. 

You know how your memory fades, but for memories that mean so much to you, they are imprinted in your mind?!?? And if you close your eyes hard enough it’s like you are right there in the memory?!? One thing I can still picture to this day is her arthritic hands stirring ingredients. She rarely used a spoon for stirring. She almost always used her pair of hands. The hands that God gave her. The hands that orchestrated so many things...notes, lists, phone calls, present wrapping, crossword puzzle filling, hugs, finger shaking, and stirring ingredients most frequently. My grandmother was amazing. She is my tie to the “hills” and my reason for being slightly sassy. She always encouraged me to make things in the kitchen and to just “try.” Bobbie, my grandmother, taught me so many things.  But among her many lessons has to be the desire to be hospitable. How important thoughtfulness, attention to detail, and intentionality is to people. To be able to whip up a dinner for anyone just in case. To make chicken salad on a whim because she knew I was low on grocery money in college, or a vat of lima beans and completely miss the sarcasm in my voice when I mentioned “I just LOVE them.” She loved providing space for people to feel loved. She provided me so much space to be noticed, loved, and invested in me. A plus in all the cooking, was getting her hands dirty. I can remember her squishing her famous ham salad and asked if I wanted to get in on the action?!? As much as I loved being with her I loved getting my hands dirty with the safety of a sink nearby. 

To this day there are certain dishes I NEVER use a spoon for. My guacamole, bread, meatballs, chicken salad, etc. For these, my hands suffice just fine. As Mother’s Day is around the corner, I think of one of the first Mother’s Days my sister Emma and I hosted at “our home.” She was so proud of the food and hospitality we provided. I can still remember her kissing and hugging me on the way out the door, smiling with her dentures “in.” She was beyond proud. With every recipe I begin anew - something in the back of my mind recalls her face of approval. As we have extra time to be home right now one of my immediate goals was to teach my children more in the kitchen. I want them all to be able to cook something successfully and hopefully one of them will eventually get their hands dirty and enjoy it. 

She loved some peanut butter cookies. As did her mother before her and my mother too. Now, these cookies are not healthy but they definitely have less processed sugar than my normal pb or chocolate chip cookies. She would approve of the improvements. And I used my hands to mix because I was feeling nostalgic. 

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas 
• 2 sticks of butter, softened 
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter (softened)
• 3 cups of flour
• 1 tsp baking soda 
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Recipe:

1. Cream butter, sugar, bananas all together. 
2. Add the egg, peanut butter or other nut butter, and honey. 
3. Stir in the flour, salt, and baking soda. Fold in chocolate chips. 
4. Place in the fridge for an hour or so. 
5. Heat oven to 375. Drop dough by 1.5 inch balls and kind of smush but not completely flat. 
6. Bake for 10 minutes. 
7. Cool cookies however you like.