By June 2026. I am 67, retired, and the Memphis summer wraps around Orange Mound with its annual ferocity. The smoker calls louder in summer, and I answer, because answering the smoker is answering the part of myself that is most alive.
Marcus and Angela in Whitehaven, their family the living proof that love, planted carefully, grows into something that feeds the whole community. Naomi, fierce and growing, the granddaughter who carries Denise's stubbornness and Angela's calm in equal measure.
Cornbread in the cast iron — buttermilk, cornmeal, bacon drippings, 425 degrees until golden. Some weeks the simplest food is enough. Cornbread is always enough, the way showing up is always enough. Both require heat, patience, and the willingness to be plain when plain is what's needed.
The week ended on the porch with Rosetta, the evening gentle, the smoker cooling. Another week of tending fires — the smoker, the marriage, the family, the faith. Low and slow. Always.
That week in Orange Mound reminded me again that the simplest things —showing up, tending fires, being plain when plain is what’s needed —are the ones that sustain you. I wasn’t looking to impress anyone; I was looking for something honest to put on the table before Rosetta and I called it a night. These flourless peanut butter cookies with sea salt are exactly that: three ingredients, a little patience, and something warm coming out of the oven that asks nothing of you except that you pay attention. Low and slow isn’t just for the smoker —it’s a whole philosophy, and these cookies live inside it.
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies with Sea Salt
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 22 min | Servings: 24 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter (natural or conventional)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine kosher salt
- Flaky sea salt, for finishing (such as Maldon)
Instructions
- Heat the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Mix the dough. In a medium bowl, combine peanut butter, granulated sugar, egg, vanilla extract, baking soda, and kosher salt. Stir until a smooth, cohesive dough forms —it will be thick and slightly oily, which is exactly right.
- Portion the cookies. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls (about 1 tablespoon each) and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Press and score. Using a fork, gently press each ball flat with a crosshatch pattern, pressing to about 1/4-inch thickness. Do not press too thin or the edges will overbrown.
- Finish with salt. Pinch a small amount of flaky sea salt over the top of each cookie before baking.
- Bake. Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack for 11–13 minutes, until the edges are set and the tops look just dry. The centers will appear slightly underdone —that is correct; they firm up as they cool.
- Cool completely. Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They are fragile when hot and will hold their shape once cooled.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 110 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Carbs: 12g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 95mg