Favorite Peanut Butter Cookies (double recipe)
This is my favorite all-time cookie. *For variety I like to often either use crunchy peanut butter and add walnut halves to the top of each cookie, or use creamy peanut butter and include chopped walnuts inside.
Ingredients:
1 C. Granulated Sugar
1 C. Brown Sugar, packed
1 C. Shortening
1 C. Peanut Butter, creamy*
2 Eggs
2-1/2 C. Flour
1 tsp. Baking powder
1-1/2 tsp. Baking soda
½ tsp. Salt
Directions:
Mix sugars, shortening, peanut better, and eggs.  Stir in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Shape into 1-1/4 in. balls, space 3” apart on ungreased baking sheets Put granulated sugar into small bowl and dip fork into sugar, then flatten balls in criss-cross pattern.  Sprinkle each with a bit of granulated sugar.  Bake 10-12 minutes, remove from cookie sheet immediately to cool. Makes 5-6 doz. These freeze well, so you can have some fresh whenever you want…

Chocolate Chip Cookies (double recipe)
These cookies were always my family’s favorite – especially son Dan.  This is an old recipe from the Nestle’s chocolate chip bag.  I have made this recipe for many years and it always turns out well.  Makes 4-6 dozen.
Ingredients:
2 C. Butter or margarine, softened
1-1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1-1/2 C. Granulated Sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla
4 Eggs, beaten separately
4-1/2 C. Flour
2 tsp. Baking soda
2 tsp. Salt
½ C. Chopped Walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 375º
Directions:
Mix butter, sugars and vanilla in large mixing bowl, stir in the beaten eggs, and add dry ingredients (mixed separately in another bowl) and stir together.  Add chopped walnuts at this time, mixing in thoroughly.  Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet immediately to cool.  
These cookies freeze very well for serving at a later time. Other options: In addition to the walnuts, ½ C. raisins can  be added, and some orange peel is nice.

Christmas Nut Horns
This recipe is more work than I usually go to, but they are soooo rich and delicious I usually can’t help myself and make them most years.  This recipe makes a large amount.
Ingredients:
4 C. flour
2 eggs, beaten together
1 C. buttermilk
1 lb. butter or margarine
2 C. walnuts
Powdered sugar for garnish
Preheat oven to 375º
Directions:
In hand grinder or food process or, grind walnuts fine.  In medium bowl, mix about 2 cups sugar and enough ground cinnamon for “cinnamon toast” look.  Add nuts to sugar and cinnamon until it’s very mealy and set aside. Mix the 4 cups flour and 1 lb. butter until mealy with pastry blender or forks.  Add the eggs and buttermilk to the flour mixture and mix well.  Cover and chill in refrigerator for two hours.  Roll dough out ¼-inch thick, and cut into 3-inch squares.  Coat each square with melted margarine, and drop a tsp of nut mixture into the center.  Fold over two opposite points, moistening top corner to fasten, and leave the other edges open.  Carefully move to ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake 18 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from cookie sheet immediately, coat with powdered sugar when cool.  These are heavenly!

Crisp Sugar Cookies
These are excellent for decorating at Christmas time, and the recipe I’ve always used.  They are good plain with coffee or tea.
Ingredients:
1 ½ C Sugar
1 C Shortening (part butter for flavor)
2 eggs, unbeaten
3 tbsp Sweet or Sour Cream
1 tsp Vanilla
½ tsp Lemon Extract
3 C Flour
½ tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Salt
Preheat oven to 400º. 
Directions:
Gradually add sugar to shortening, and cream together. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add cream and flavoring. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in separate bowl. Add to wet ingredients and mix well. Chill in refrigerator.  Roll out small amounts at a time, very thin.  Cut out with cookie cutters and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake 6-9 minutes, until golden. Decorate as desired. Makes 6 dozen.

Betty Cable’s Persimmon Drop Cookies
From January 1974 to January 1984 I worked half-days at an elementary school, my first job.  For the first six years of that time I worked in a classroom with Betty, who became a good friend, and working in the office the last four years.  These are very good cookies when persimmons are ripe.
Ingredients:
1 C. Persimmon pulp
½ C. Shortening
1 C. sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp. Baking soda
½ - 1 tsp. Ground cinnamon
½ tsp. Ground cloves
1 tsp. Baking powder
½ tsp. Ground nutmeg
2 C. flour
1 C. shopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350-375 degrees
Directions:
Dissolve baking soda in Persimmon pulp.  Cream shortening and sugar into persimmon mixture.  Beat egg into persimmon mixture, stir in cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and nuts.  Mix flour and baking powder together and add to mix.  Drop mix by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheets immediately to cool.  Cookies should be set but not brown. Cookies will be soft and moist.  They are excellent with tea or coffee, they are similar to pumpkin cookies, but the persimmon gives them a delicious flavor of their own.

Pumpkin Cookies
These cookies are my second favorites of all time.  Not too sweet, they go really well with coffee or tea and are very nice with mulled cider at holiday time.
Ingredients:
1 C. Sugar
½ C. Shortening
1 C. canned pumpkin
1 tbsp. Grated orange peel
2 C. flour
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp baking powder
½ C. chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 375º
Directions:
Mix sugar, shortening, pumpkin and orange peel.  Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, and mix well.  Add nuts and stir in, drop by teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes, until slightly browned but still soft.  Remove from cookie sheet immediately to cool.  These freeze well, but I don’t often let them sit long enough to bother.

Snickerdoodles (Cinnamon Sugar Drop Cookies)
When my boys were in school and I needed cookies by the hundreds, it seemed, I must have made a million of these.  They're very easy, keep well and the recipe makes a lot. My copy of this recipe is so stained from use that it looks as if it had been steeped in tea!  This is a crisp cookie, so it's also good for dunking.
Ingredients:
1 C Shortening
1 ½ C Sugar
2 Eggs
2 ¾ C Flour
2 tsp Cream of Tartar
1 tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Salt
Cinnamon/Sugar mixture
Preheat oven to 400°
Directions: 
Blend Shortening, sugar, beaten eggs. Stir in Flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt. Roll dough into balls and then roll balls in cinnamon/sugar mixture. Place on ungreased baking sheet, 2” apart. Bake 12-15 minutes; remove from sheet immediately to cool. Makes 5-6 dozen.