Peanut Cookies

A plain drop cookie of the melted-butter school, closer to a soft peanut bar than a crisp wafer. The original gives the oven temperature but no baking time, so watch the edges rather than the clock.

• Baking timeAt 400F these want roughly 8 to 10 minutes. Pull them when the edges are set and browned and the centres still look slightly soft; melted-fat doughs firm up considerably as they cool.
• "Quick oven"The book supplies the number, 400F, which is at the low end of what period writers called quick (400-450F). No adjustment is needed, but a light-coloured sheet pan helps, as dark pans at this heat scorch the bottoms before the middles set.
• The fatA quarter cup is 4 tablespoons. Melt it and let it cool slightly before the eggs go in, or you will begin to cook them. Butter gives better flavour; the shortening option is a period economy.
• Brown sugarMeasure it packed. Brown sugar of this period was often moister and less refined than today's light brown; light brown sugar is the nearest match, and dark will make a heavier, more molasses-forward cookie.
• The peanutsOne cup gives a cookie with peanuts in it, two gives a cookie held together by peanuts. Roasted unsalted are the safest choice, since the recipe already carries half a teaspoon of salt; if you use salted cocktail peanuts, cut the added salt to a pinch.
• Mixing orderSift the flour, salt and baking powder together before adding, as directed, then mix only until no dry flour shows. It is a soft dough rather than a stiff one, and overworking it toughens the cookies.
• Yield and spacingExpect several dozen from teaspoonfuls. The recipe's inch or two apart is the right spacing. Grease the pans as directed or use parchment.
• The half peanut on topPress it in gently so it seats in the batter, or it will slide off the domed top as the cookie spreads.