the second death of the company town

and applying adaptive reuse to the peanut butter cup

“What’s a company town?” my sister asked as we rolled through the remnants of downtown Altoona, Pennsylvania, on the way to our uncle’s funeral last spring.

It’s complicated?

My aunt and I had likely been idling on about the history of the area we fled together in the summer of 1985. My sister, born in Florida in 1997, had rarely visited and even less context. We offered examples of company towns depicted in popular culture: Appalachians at the whim of the coal mines in October Sky and the depiction of continued slavery rebranded as a ‘company town’ in Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing. We talked about the Pullman Porters and the Great Migration, Hersey’s rare example of modeling homeownership and how Altoona was developed as a Pennsylvania Railroad town to build the horseshoe curve, making the trip from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh five times faster in 1858.

Horseshoe Curve, Altoona, PA - a foamer’s paradise

As the seasons and news cycles wore on back in Baltimore, another place grappling with the remnants of the industrial revolution, I kept coming back to this conversation. We had focused on the company towns that made the industrial revolution, but what of those that had led the information revolution?

Around the same time companies across Silicon Valley began cajoling employees to come back to their multi-acre campuses built on the dream of “you’ve got everything at work, so you’ll never need to leave.” Employees were less convinced. Some probably thinking, how different is ‘unlimited’ vacation paired with grueling deadlines and ultra-competitive review processes from paying someone in coupons that can only be used at the company store?

Mostly though, it got me curious about adaptive reuse architecture. The Rust Belt has spent the last four decades figuring out how to repurpose factories, mills and warehouses into condos, breweries and office space. How will the current shift in the way we work impact the future of existing architecture?

Futurists may indulge in ideas like the Venus Project, but what happens if Google’s headquarters gets added to the National Register of Historic Places? How will architects 80 years from now be adapting a 2,000,000-square foot open concept office space in Mountain View? Or a 450,000 square foot campus in Menlo Park?

The same trip to Altoona got me thinking about adaptive reuse in the kitchen. How ingredients can get assigned a purpose in our minds so specific that we are blinded to their other uses. The Reese’s Cup is a great example. It has a chokehold on how many Americans define the taste of peanut butter.

But if you find yourself at a Sheetz in central Pennsylvania, try a Boyer’s Smoothie Cup. It can only be framed as a chaotic Reese’s Cup covered in butterscotch, mixed with flakes of coconut. Or next time you’re in the aisles of Whole Foods, give my aunt a chuckle by picking up a jar of Delgrosso’s Marinara, another Altoona kitchen staple rebranded as upscale Italian food.

These were the items that got me thinking about how Thai cuisine so often combines peanut butter, coconut and chili flakes. They also led me to this chaotic cookie.

peanut butter-butterscotch cookies

adapted from the recipe for peanut butter-paprika cookies by Lisa Ludwinski of Sister Pie with a nod to Altoona’s Boyer’s Smoothie Cup & Delgrosso’s Marinara

what you need

Dough Base: 1 1/4 cups crunchy peanut butter ◾ 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature ◾¾ cup (packed) light brown sugar ◾¾ cup granulated sugar ◾ 2 large eggs, room temperature ◾1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients: 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder ◾1 teaspoon baking soda ◾ 1 tablespoon of kosher salt ◾ 1 tablespoon red pepper flake ◾ 2 cups all-purpose flour ◾ 1/3 cup whole wheat flour ◾11 ounces butterscotch chips ◾ 1 cup sweetened coconut flake ◾ 1 tablespoon flaky sea salt

what to do

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream peanut butter, butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed about 2 minutes until fluffy. Scrape bowl thoroughly with a silicone spatula, being sure to reach underneath the paddle.

Add eggs and vanilla and continue to beat until combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the bowl again.

Slowly add dry ingredients, adding the flour last, and beat on low speed until incorporated. If you notice any flour at bottom of bowl, use spatula to fold into batter. Then, add butterscotch chips and coconut flake and mix on the lowest speed until incorporated.

Use a heaping tablespoon or #40 (purple) scoop to portion dough into balls. Wrap dough tightly or store in a Ziplock and chill at least 4 hours up to 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Arrange on prepared pans. Slightly flatten each ball with your palm, press with a fork to make the classic peanut butter cookie ‘X’ design, then sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

Bake cookies until edges are beginning to turn golden brown and tops no longer look wet, 10-12 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool. Transfer to an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.

• Reading - Carnality by Lina Wolff (2022) half-heartedly for a book club I will never attend.

• Listening - to Articles of Interest’s season on American Ivy (2022), which is my one and only podcast adventure.

• Snacking - on Vosges’ Parmesan, Walnut and Fig chocolate bar, a true delight from a company willing to take risks that don’t always deliver on taste. It’s sold out individually, but still available through their cheese and chocolate library!

• Watching - the contagious blisters on my baby’s skin that kept me from Barbenheimer weekend.

• Smelling - Tokyo Milk’s Everything and Nothing (2011) which is about all the scent one can bear in the heat of the summer.