Cookie #67 - Virginia Salted Peanut Cookies

Virginia has always had a special place in my heart, as a child and now as an adult.  My father was born and raised in the Richmond area.  When I was younger, my older brother enlisted in the Navy and was stationed in Norfolk.  Now, as an adult, I'm married to a Virginia Tech alum.  As a  season ticket holder, he makes a few trips back every fall to see the Hokies play football in Lane Stadium. 
Most of my Virginia family worked for Phillip Morris.  Since I wasn't about to try a tobacco cookie (see it here in a cupcake), I opted for Virginia peanuts instead. 
I found this recipe clipping in one of my mom's many recipe books.  I'm not sure where or when it's from - I'm guess sometime in the late 60's early 70's.  The recipe was cut off, so I didn't have the exact baking time.  I watched them closely and found that 8 minutes in my oven was perfect. 
The cookies are crisp, rather than soft like a traditional peanut butter cookie.  They're very sweet, being rolled in sugar, and very crunchy, having corn flakes, oats and salted peanuts mixed it.  I guess if you want them softer, you need to bake them a little less.  I used real Virginia peanuts that I was lucky enough to have found at Wegmans.  I decorated the cookies with a little colored sugar, trying to mimic Virginia Tech's colors.  The cookies kind of reminded me of Planter's Peanut Bars, one of my father's favorite candies.  I'm sure he would've loved this cookie. 

Virginia Salted Peanut Cookies
source unknown

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup vegetable shortening

2 eggs

1 cup corn flakes

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup salted peanuts

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Cream shortening and sugars.  Mix in vanilla and eggs.

Sift flour and baking soda, add to shortening mixture.  Stir in oats, corn flakes and peanuts.  (I ran the mixer a little longer at this point, hoping to break up the cornflakes and nuts a bit)

Roll tablespoons full of dough in sugar and place 2" apart on parchment lined baking sheets.  Flatten each cookie slightly with the bottom of a glass.  Decorate with colored sugar, if desired.

Bake for 8 minutes or until the edges just start to change color.