The best recipes often come with a backstory and this one is a pretty fun one. They’re called Jimmy Carter Cookies after Jimmy Carter — the former peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia and 39th President of the United States. The recipe is actually said to have come from his grandmother and not him, but the peanut connection certainly fits. These are like a peanut butter cookie without peanut butter and they found their way back to popularity after a Reddit post about them went viral. It turns out many families had their own version, and once you taste them, you’ll understand exactly why.

What Ingredients Do You Need for Jimmy Carter Cookies?

• Butter.
• Granulated sugar and dark brown sugar.
• Eggs.
• Vanilla extract.
• All-purpose flour and baking soda.
• Rolled oats.
• Salted peanuts — the ingredient that ties this whole cookie back to its peanut-farm origins.

How Do You Make Jimmy Carter Cookies?

Cream your butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda, then gradually mix that into the butter mixture until just combined. Fold in the oats and peanuts, but be careful not to overmix so the cookies retain a nice tender texture.

If you have time, chill the dough for up to 2 hours first. It’s not required, but it does give you a thicker, chewier cookie in the end. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto your baking sheets, flatten slightly with a fork, and bake until the edges turn golden. Let the cookies rest on the pan for a couple of minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely. All that’s left to do is get snacking!

Wait, Where’s the Peanut Butter?

There is no peanut butter in these cookies, but plenty of peanuts! The oats give them a wonderful chewy texture and the peanuts still bring the flavor… so they kind of taste like peanut butter cookies, just probably not the ones you’re used to.

Why the Crisscross Pattern on Top?

It’s mostly tradition at this point, the same fork-pressed crisscross you’ll see on classic peanut butter cookies, and it’s an easy way to flatten the dough slightly before baking so the cookies spread and bake evenly. It also happens to be a nice little visual nod to the cookie’s peanut-heavy ingredient list.