These cookies caught my eye because they called specifically for Spanish peanuts which I recall seeing bags and bags of as a child but not in decades since. The shelves (here at least) have been taken over by all varieties of Virginia peanuts (fun fact, I toured a Virginia peanut farm a few years back and it was very interesting) and more mysteriously sourced peanuts. Spanish peanuts are smaller and sold with their red skins loosely attached.
As I read the recipe I realized they also used oatmeal which I would not have guessed from the name. I enjoy an oatmeal cookie so I immediately added it to my spreadsheet of recipes to try.
I put the peanuts on my list and then quickly realized I couldn’t find Spanish peanuts anywhere! It isn’t that I haven’t noticed them since childhood or the packaging and popularity changed, they simply don’t seem to be readily available.
I ended up reluctantly ordering a tub from Planters on Amazon for what I’d think they’d cost in the supermarket and then they vanished off the site.
I guess I could have used the Aldi brand sea salt we snack on but the recipe was so specific, I felt I needed to use Spanish. They are smaller and I do think they worked better in a cookie than the jumbo regular kind.
There was better distribution of peanuts then there has been when I’ve used Virginia peanuts in cookies which tasted great but you’d end up with some peanut-free bites. The Spanish peanuts also really kept their texture during baking. I’m a convert!
The recipe was pretty solid. I used butter instead of shortening and upped the vanilla a bit. I also scaled down the recipe to make about 2 dozen cookies. The original recipe must have made 4-5 dozen which is too many for my household of two (dogs not included). Feel free to double the recipe if you want more cookies.
The cookies, unsurprisingly, have a nutty flavor thanks to both the peanuts and the oatmeal without actually containing literal nuts! We both liked them a lot. My absolute top preference will always be a cookie with chocolate but these were really satisfying and cozy.
Salted Peanut Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- ¾ cup flour
- 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅔ cup salted Spanish peanuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, or bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, sugars, egg and vanilla until creamy.
- Stir in the dry ingredients until a thick batter forms. Fold in the peanuts.
- Scoop about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough about an inch apart on the lined cookie sheets.
- Bake about 12 minutes or until golden brown and baked through.
- Cool on wire racks.
adapted and updated from Betty Grandstaff’s recipe appearing in The Mixing Bowl Jeffersonville High School PTA, Jeffersonville, Indiana 1978