Deviled Eggs (From Mom's Recipe Card File)

Summer is cookout, pitch-in, and picnic season, and there are certain foods you just kind of expect to see on the table - fried chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, brownies, baked beans, potato salad, watermelon, corn on the cob, and deviled eggs.  Whenever we'd have a family get-together, That Man's sister would make deviled eggs for an army, and The Girl and I would be in hog heaven.

Here's my mom's recipe for deviled eggs (my favorite).  Be sure to measure the wet ingredients.  You don't want the yolk filling mixture too soft - it should be able to hold its shape.  If you're making a large quantity, you can use a stand mixer for mixing the yolk filling.  Even That Man said they were "pretty good" last time I made deviled eggs.  Coming from him, that's high praise, indeed!



Deviled Eggs (1/2 dozen whole eggs)

Notice the mid-1970's
Tupperware - oooooh, vintage!

6 hard cooked eggs
2 T Duke's or Hellman's mayonnaise, or Miracle Whip
1 t vinegar
1 t yellow mustard (you can be fancy schmancy and use Dijon, I guess)
1T sugar
1/4 t salt
1/4 t paprika

Halve the eggs lengthwise, and put the yolks in a bowl.  With a fork, break up the yolks until they are fine and mealy.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  Spoon yolk into each egg white cavity, mash down slightly with a fork and sprinkle with additional paprika.


Instead of a spoon, you can fill a cake icing bag with the egg yolk mixture and pipe it into the egg white.  Refrigerate!

Peanut Butter Cookies (From Mom's Recipe Card File)

Peanut butter cookies are very popular in our house, the kind that are basically chocolate chip cookie dough with peanut butter flavored chips instead of semi-sweet chocolate chips.  There is no peanut butter in the dough!  What???  How can those be considered peanut butter cookies?   (I actually have a recipe for those, but this isn't it!)

Here's the recipe for REAL peanut butter cookies - the ones my mom used to make - 1960s-style.


Traditional Peanut Butter Cookies (about 2 1/2 dozen)

1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 c peanut butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
3/4  t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt

Cream together butter and peanut butter.  Add sugars gradually and cream.  Add egg and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.  Add gradually to the creamed mixture.  Cover the bowl and chill dough 15-30 minutes.  It will be fairly soft.

Roll into about 1-tablespoon dough balls with your hands (I use a cookie scoop to measure).  Roll in additional granulated sugar (you'll need about 1/3 cup) and place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Flatten slightly with a fork in a criss-cross pattern (to about 1/2 inch thick).

Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes.  Let sit on the baking sheet about 5 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack.  Cookies will be tender-crisp, not soft.

This recipe can be doubled.