School Cafeteria Cookies
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School Cafeteria Cookies taste just like the ones the lunch ladies made back in the day! They're huge, chewy, and made with lots of creamy peanut butter.
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What Makes These Cookies Special?
Do you remember sitting at your desk in school and smelling the aroma of peanut butter cookies wafting though the air? Whenever the lunch ladies baked School Cafeteria Cookies, we couldn't concentrate on anything else!
Throughout the years, I bet several fights have happened over these peanut butter cookies. When I was in school, the boys would beg the girls to hand them over...but I never faltered.
Nobody got between me and my peanut butter cookies. Not even my boyfriend, who happened to turn into my hubby several years later.
Ingredients You'll Need
- cold butter or shortening
- peanut butter
- brown sugar
- white sugar
- large eggs
- all purpose flour
- baking soda
- dash of salt
Quantities are listed in the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to Make School Cafeteria Cookies
These yummy peanut butter cookies are so easy to make! Just mix the shortening and peanut butter until smooth. Add two types of sugar and mix well. Gradually blend in the flour and other dry ingredients...then you're ready to start making peanut butter cookie balls!
My favorite part is when you take a fork and press the dough in a criss-cross pattern. They look just like the cookies you'll remember from childhood! Dust them with sugar if you like, and bake for just 10 minutes at 350 degrees on a cookie sheet.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
School Cafeteria Cookies are sweet, salty, and filled with rich peanut butter flavor. They're everything you want a cookie to be. Plus, they're perfect when dunked in a cold glass of milk!
Chicago Public School system (CPS) is famous for their butter cookies, but down south, we lay claim to having the best school cafeteria peanut butter cookies you'll ever taste!
Isn't it great you don't have to stare at the clock and wish class would end so you can get your hands on this yumminess? Now that you have this recipe, you can make them anytime you want.
Recipe Highlights
This recipe is in honor of Granny Mac, who worked as a lunch lady in a school cafeteria for many years. Sometimes she would bring home School Cafeteria Cookies and make my day. I'd stuff one or two in my pocket and head out the door on a wild adventure.
These peanut butter cookies can be made with shortening like Granny Mac used, or with butter, which is more acceptable today. Either way is good, but the original way is usually the best.
More Cookies to Love
If you love cookies like I do, try these other yummy recipes...
- Goblin Skillet Cookie
- Santa's Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cherry Magic Bars
- Salted Chocolate Toffee Bars
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe Card
School Cafeteria Cookies
*See notes in blog post for detailed tips, photos and instructions.
Ingredients
- ½ cup cold butter or shortening (shortening works best)
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- dash of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix the shortening with peanut butter in a mixer until smooth.
- Add brown sugar, white sugar and beaten eggs. Mix well.
- Gradually blend in the flour, baking soda and salt.
- Drop cookie dough onto a cookie sheet in 2 Tbsp. scoops.
- Pat dough down and press with a fork in a criss-cross pattern.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
- Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to paper-lined sheets for cooling.
Notes
- Shortening is the ingredient used and tested for years in this vintage recipe. It works best, so if you want great results, use shortening instead of butter.
- If you use butter, the cookies will spread more than if you use shortening and may appear more greasy.
- Dust cookies with sugar after baking if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is an auto generated estimate.
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These are delicious.. love them and hubby does too.. I have a question though, I'm on chemo due to lupus and can't eat much & I'm also a diabetic, so was
wondering if I can freeze the dough since we can't eat that many at once..thanks and God bless.
Hi Tammy! Thank you for your kind words. The answer is YES! You can freeze the dough ahead of time and bake as needed. I hope you get better soon! 🙂
The recipe as is is perfect!
I'm so happy you loved it! 🙂
I love the recipe and they are super good but I just don't have enough eggs to make more is there anything I could use instead
Hey Mari. I've seen other peanut butter cookie recipes that don't use eggs. You could always try making the cookies without eggs and see what happens!
Debi,
I've tried countless recipes and literally stumbled onto yours. I can't thank you enough. Test batch done, sampled and now I'm weeping tears of joy. These cookies are absolutely perfect! Oh my goodness...thanks again for sharing the recipe.
Thanks Leesa! That makes me so happy! 🙂
I have been searching for the Southern School Cafeteria peanut butter cookie recipe for years. I found it!! These are the best peanut butter cookies!!! They are so good that I have to thank you twice.
Thank you, Thank you!
Thank you Vivian! You made my day! 🙂
These are the best peanut butter cookies that I’ve ever tasted. I used to be a Cafeteria lady and they’re better than the ones we made. I’d think I make it them extra big.
Wow! Thank you Nethena! I consider that a great compliment coming from an expert like you! 🙂
I remember these the best peanut butter cookies.Thank you,they bring back a lot of memories
You're welcome, Kim! They were the highlight of my school days! 🙂
Excellent! Family loves them, best recipe I've ever made for peanut butter cookies 🙂
Thank you Mary Beth! You made my day! 🙂
Wow! These take me back! I always wanted to eat my cookie first in school. Maybe that’s why I craved these when I was pregnant with my daughter!!
FINALLY a recipe that comes out the way it says it's going to! Oh mmmmmm G, they are crispy on the edges and so chewy in the middle 10 minutes was the perfect time. I can't thank you enough, will be making again and again and again lol
Thanks Ro! So glad these lunch lady cookies worked out well for you!
These are the School cookies I remember and I'm from Chicago, never had the great butter cookies mentioned in Chicago School system only peanut butter cookies and these took me there. Thank you 💗
Hi Janeen! Oh, I'm so glad you found this recipe! It brings back so many memories, doesn't it? 🙂
These are the best cookies ever! You have not lived until you have tried these cookies!!!! My grandmother would send me back to college with a shoebox full of peanut butter cookies and a big jar of her pinto beans. I think I shared them with roommates and girls in the dorm although I really wanted them all to myself.
Thanks so much Kristen! I love hearing your story and knowing how much those cookies and beans meant way back when! 🙂
Sweet Chewy Peanut Buttery Perfection!!
Thanks, Kesia! So glad you liked them! 🙂
Thanks a million!!!! Only one problem.I can't stop eating them!!! AWESOME!!
Terrific! You made my day! 🙂
This recipe looks fabulous! I can smell them, just like you said 🙂
Came over here from Meal Plan Monday looking for next week's features. Make sure you check out the guidelines if you'd like to be featured some week as we'd love to have you!
Thank you so much Christy! I will definitely work on that! 🙂 By the way...I LOVE your blog!
Absolutely delicious! I haven't been in grade school over 60 years and can still remember the smell permeating the air.
Yay! So glad you liked them! They do take you back, don't they?
Thanks Jane! I have so many fond memories of these peanut butter cookies!
These are so delicious and take me back years ago to the divine aroma wafting through the halls and classrooms at school. Very easy too. Love your recipes.