When I was newly married, my husband taught me a recipe I will never forget and one that is featured in Song of Return! It is a peanut butter cookie recipe his 99-year-old grandmother, Lois Post, taught him to make when he was a little boy. The recipe makes the best peanut butter cookies I have ever tasted, and it is so easy to remember. You literally memorize it by your hand, one measurement of one ingredient for every one finger on one hand. See how easy to remember! So, here are the five ingredients. As you read them, count them off with your fingers.

Lois’ Peanut Butter Cookies by Hand

Ingredients:

1. 1 egg

2. 1 cup of sugar

3. 1 stick of butter

4. 1 cup of self-rising flour

5. 1 cup of peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Roll out the dough into one- to two-inch balls and place them on a greased baking sheet. Using a fork, press down each ball with a crisscross pattern. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes depending on your desired level of chewiness. My husband likes them crispy, and I like them chewy. So, we usually have to bake a few each way.

This recipe will not disappoint! If you want to add to the yumminess, add Hershey’s Kisses on the tops right after baking. Small Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins also make a delicious and fun addition in the fall.

Now, you can bake like Lois and Ava from Song of Return!

“There’s a barrel of fish in the ocean,” Ava sang as she mixed together peanut butter, flour, an egg, and butter. “There’s a lot of little birds in the blue.”

She stopped stirring and stopped her song at the same time.

“Let’s see. That leaves only sugar.” She measured out a cup of sugar and added it to her mixture. “There,” she said and held up her hand counting off each of the five ingredients with her fingers.

She now began to pinch off the dough and roll it into palm-size balls.

“And neither fish nor fowl says the wise old owl can you love you anymore than I do,” she sang again, determined to both make good cookies and remember all the words to her latest song.

Song of Return, Chapter 2