Online Friends Can Be Real Friends

A zoom class with friends across the globe.

Goodness knows when the internet was unleashed it was a bit like Pandora's box. Yes, it can be a dark and murky and dangerous space. But there is also much good to be found there. I have learned how to do many things, like programming the garage door opener button in my car, by watching YouTube videos. There are plenty of recipes and music for me. But the single best thing the internet has given me are the friends I've made. Friends from so many places I have never been. Let me tell you about a few. 

The first "online person" I got to know was Dr. Jim who has a ukulele site. When I was learning to play, I emailed him to ask a question about a song on his site. Little did I know then that he was a real physician who did this as a hobby and would answer my questions during his lunch time between seeing patients. He called me once because he said it would be easier to answer my question that way instead of email. When I answered his call, he paused for half a second and then sounded so surprised (he lives in New England)..."You sound southern!" Well, yes. Yes, I do.

When my ukulele skills were better, I started a ukulele band and wrote a blog about each performance. It was an easy way to keep our performance schedule public. Another ukulele player was starting SMUG (Saturday Morning Ukulele Group) a similar band and I became the one to answer his questions. Then after many, many email exchanges, daughter Jessica and I planned a vacation to Prince Edward Island, Canada where David lived. We got to meet him in person and had the loveliest dinner at his home with David and his wife. And play with his ukulele band.

Knitting Pipeline retreat in Georgia

The knitting world has a strong online presence. Like all of these people I've become friend with, it starts with an exchange of information. I "met" Mary on Ravelry, a knitting website. There were many friendly exchanges with knitters but for reasons we don't understand, Mary and I "connected." When I first learned that Mommy and J-Daddy were expecting a baby I was told "Don't tell anyone yet!" Well, to keep from exploding from excitement, I shared my news with Mary! She lives in New York and knew no one close to where I live. Thank goodness. Mary and I finally met years later at a knitting retreat in Maine.

Knitters in Ireland

Another knitter I met on Ravelry was Missy who talked me into coming to a knitting retreat with a bunch of people I didn't know and hosted by a podcaster I had never listened to. I met so many people there and we have stayed in touch for years now. I traveled to Ireland with some of those folks a few years ago. And some of them have visited with me here at the farm. And that first retreat lead to other retreats in other states. And more new friends.

And in the last few years (during the pandemic) I found online piano friends. This group, Piano With Jonny (PWJ) is the most global of all. I have not met any of these folks in person—yet— but people do get to meet in person while traveling. Like traveling from the Netherlands to Japan. We got to see videos of these pianists playing together. It's such a fun way for those of us who stay close to home to be part of the bigger world. Yesterday I was in a zoom group with a handful of people from Iran, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and several states in this country scattered from one coast to the other. 

(If you are interested in learning piano or dusting off rusty skills, it's a great platform. There are many free lessons on YouTube but to join and have full access there is a modest fee. Worth every penny!)

This all gets me back to the Christmas cookies I wrote about last time and my piano friend Joyce. (See the previous post.) She said she was happy to share her recipes. I'll share one today. More coming later.

I got these recipes in the mail—the actual mail—just before Christmas, too late to share for your holiday baking. Both cookies are equally delicious.  But the raspberry cookies especially would be a great Valentine treat.

RASPBERRY BARS

  For 1/2 sheet pan, yield up to 96 cookies (Joyce cut these into tiny bars)

3 cups all-purpose flour

2-1/2 cups quick or old fashioned oats (if old fashioned, pulse in processor about 10 times)

1 cup chopped nuts, pecans, almonds or walnuts (more fine than coarse)

2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

3 sticks butter, at room temp

1 (18-oz) jar seedless raspberry jam (not jelly)

Whisk all dry ingredients together, set aside.

Stir butter in bowl of KitchenAid mixer, using paddle attachment.

Add dry ingredients all at once, mix on low speed until texture of crumbs or pebbly sand.

(Do not mix into a cohesive mass—it needs to be loose.)

Preheat oven to 350º. Line a 1/2 sheet pan (18x13-inches) with parchment, waxed paper or foil. Spread 2/3 to 3/4 of crumb mixture into pan and pat down. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Remove from oven.

Spread jam over top, spreading to 1/4 inch from pan borders. Sprinkle remaining crumbs over top. Return to oven and bake 30 minutes more.

Cool completely, then loosen edges and turn out entire sheet onto a cutting surface. Cut into bars or triangles. DO NOT CUT BARS IN THE PAN! It mars the pan surface.

Hey Cookie!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

We headed down the interstate over the weekend. It was a holiday, the end of school and a dance recital all rolled into one. All things to be celebrated. It was a delightful surprise to walk in the front door and find that Little Sister was in the middle of baking cookies as a welcome treat.

She has become quite the cook. She bakes. She makes entire meals now. How good it has been to watch her kitchen skills increase. You'll have to ask her mom how good her kitchen cleaning abilities are.

Baby Girl has been working hard on her tumbling skills. How she bends, flips and twists like that is beyond me! I tell her she must be made of rubber. We enjoyed the entire recital. From the tiniest ballet dancers to the graduating seniors who have studied dance for 15+ years. As a former dance mom, let me say this was the best organized recital I've ever attended. One number flowed right into the next. The program lasted about 90 minutes but it felt much shorter. It takes masterful planning for that to happen.

And we had the added pleasure of sitting in the new performing arts center that is part of the county school district. It is truly first class. Thankfully (for us) Baby Girl's recital was in the morning (there were 3 recitals that day) so we were able to go out for lunch afterward.

Then we headed home to enjoy these special cookies. There are many good recipes for chocolate cookies. This one is as good as any I've ever had. Little Girl asked for a cookbook for Christmas last December. I gave her the White Lily cookbook and she has been steadily working her way through it. I have sampled a few of her creations. Everything has been delicious.

This recipe says it make 36 cookies. Little Sister went for bigger cookies and made 24. I love that she's gaining the confidence to make a recipe her own. And I completely approve of her adjustment. These were big cookies, but not giant. They were just right. They were crisp on the edges, tender on the inside. Exactly how I like them.

Chocolate chip cookies made into ice cream sandwich.

I didn't think about a photo until I reached into the bag for a second cookie.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES (from White Lily)

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten, room temp

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups White Lily all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (12-oz) bag chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy, 3 or 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Beat in eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture all at once. Stir in chocolate chips. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375º. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Using 2-tablespoon scoop, scoop dough and place 3-inches parts on prepared pans.

Bake until bottoms are golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Let cool on pans for 5 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks and let cool completely.

Makes 36 cookies.

NOTE:  Little Sister used the next larger size scoop and made 24 cookies and adjusted the baking time accordingly.

The Kitchen Tip in the cookbook says you can freeze the scooped dough balls for up to 3 months and then bake them a few at a time when you want warm cookies.

 

Revisiting A Favorite Recipe

Oatmeal Scotchies

You can thank me later. These cookies have been a family staple of ours for years and years. It's the recipe from the back of the Nestles butterscotch chip bag. We have always baked the one-pan bar cookie version because it's faster than making multiple pans of drop cookies. But we discovered that the bar cookie version of the recipe is no longer on the butterscotch chip bag. 

Not to worry. I have the recipe saved here on the blog. I posted it back in 2012. The actual dough recipe is the same for drop cookies and bar cookies, but the pan size and cooking time are things you need to know if you want to make them in one pan. So I think it's due for another appearance here.

Little Sister may have inherited her Mimi's sweet tooth. She cut these into giant bars! They are very rich, so you might probably want to make yours a little smaller. She made these completely by herself. We just left her alone in the kitchen. She's got mad kitchen skills. She even manages pans in and out of a hot oven by herself.  

OATMEAL SCOTCHIES

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar 

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats

11-oz. package butterscotch morsels

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large mixer bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and butterscotch morsels. Press dough into a greased 10x15-inch jelly roll pan. 

Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan. Cut into bars.

Makes 4 dozen bars.

There are many comments online with brutal reviews saying the Nestles chips are not what they used to be. Evidently the recipe has been reformulated with many saying they have an artificial taste. Mommy says she can tell there's a difference but she's used them anyway. Next time we may try another brand.

Here is a quick peek at some of our granddaughter time this summer. We spent the weekend at the lake on one of those rare weekends with cool temps and low humidity. Low humidity is a big deal in the Deep South. And yesterday we had a "girls day" of shopping in town. Lunch out at a favorite restaurant was a treat. We have enjoyed having this part of the family with us since school got out for the summer. By this time next week it will be just us two old folks here at home. We are soaking up the time with the girls. 

Daddy-O starts every little one out sitting in his lap as they "drive" the boat. And now Baby Girl has graduated to solo driving. Rest assured this was on a Monday morning when the lake was empty and Daddy-O was standing right beside her. I got him to step aside long enough for a quick pic. It's always safety first for us.

As grandparents everywhere are aware, there comes a time when the grandchildren get busy with their own things (as they should) and spending weeks with grandparents isn't the treat that it once was. Not that they don't love us, but they are expanding their world. Big Sister is on her study abroad right now. We have loved seeing photos she posts, but goodness knows life on the farm isn't the same as life in Paris!

We know we are slowly moving in that direction with Little Sister as she starts middle school so we treasure each of these visits. And we are thankful that we still have smaller ones coming along. 

Treat Yourself Gently

What's your new "normal?" If you live in a rural area like us, it might not look drastically different than it did a month ago. But trust me, it feels different. But like everyone else, we keep on keeping on. And sometimes that means making a special treat. I baked cookies last week. I just used the recipe on the back of the bag of chocolate chips. It's always good.

Recipe from back of Nestle Chocolate Chips bag

But that recipe that we have all probably used for years calls for two sticks of butter. I had plenty of butter. At least for the time being. So I proceeded and we really enjoyed having a special treat.

And then friend Kathie told me she had also baked cookies and put most of them in the freezer. So I followed her lead, putting a half dozen cookies in bags, then into a rigid container to keep them from breaking in the freezer. We can enjoy these later. When we need to feel "normal' again.

Recipe below

But if your butter supply is low, you might try this recipe that Todd baked this weekend. Only needs 1/3 cup of butter and a 1/3 cup of shortening and 1 egg. We are all looking for recipes that match our ingredients now. This might be one you need now.

Jessica says, "They are crisp on the edges and chewy in the middle. So yummy!" Then she added, "Yeah, they are powerful!"

THE BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE (makes 2 dozen)

          ....from Everyday-Reading.com

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup shortening

1/2 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups (12-oz  bag) chocolate chips, semi-sweet or milk chocolate

1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

coarse salt for sprinkling 

Preheat oven to 375º. With a stand mixer, cream butter and shortening until combined. Add sugars and beat another minute or two. Add egg and vanilla. Beat again. Mix in chocolate chips. Add flour, baking soda, and salt, Mix until JUST combined. It will look over-floured for a few seconds, but should come together fairly quickly. (If you are using a hand mixer, stir chocolate chips in by hand at the end.)

Scoop golf-ball size spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet (I like to use parchment paper for easy clean up) and sprinkle each with a pinch of kosher or sea salt. Bake 9 to 11 minutes. They should be light colored and puffed when they come out of the oven, but dry looking (not shiny or wet.) Let cool on pan for about 5 minutes, then move to cooking rack.

HINT: Always set timer for the shortest time for the first pan. Watch and adjust time if necessary.

And beyond cookies and cakes—we don't need sweet treats every day— find other ways to treat yourself. My special moment of the day is watching for the sunrise. (Right now, after the time change, this doesn't happen until around 7:30, so it's not as early as it sounds.) And I'm looking forward to our book club gathering tonight via Group FaceTime. And we will celebrate Baby Girl's 6th birthday tomorrow in some online version. 

This might be the time to pull out the gratitude journal you used to keep and begin making a daily list of things you are grateful for again. Writing it down makes you focus on the good things. And remember to breathe. Breathe deep.

Jingle Jangle Ginger

We had afternoon guests this week. They were just here for a couple of hours mid-afternoon. There was no need for a meal. But being born and raised in the South, it was unthinkable for me not to have something to offer when they got here. Southern hospitality and all that. So cookies and coffee it was. And that was perfect. And enough.

These ginger cookies have been favorites in our family for years. It isn't a true Christmas recipe, but to me it feels like a winter recipe. Although I would be delighted to eat them on the Fourth of July!

These cookies are made with shortening. That means they are sturdy cookies that can be packed and shipped if you need to send them. I mailed them to Italy when Jessica was doing her study abroad. Can you imagine how much they had bounced around during that international trip? And they were all in one piece when she received them. (I did put a layer of crumpled wax paper in the bottom of the container and of the top of the cookies to cushion them.)

Here are my ginger cookie tips:

• You can mix the dry ingredients together a day or two before you make the dough. Then it doesn't feel like such a big undertaking to make these. Pulling out all the spices and measuring them takes several minutes.

• You don't need to refrigerate the dough before you bake them, but I have found that the dough is a little easier to scoop up after it sits for a few minutes. Just go wash the mixer bowl and spatula while it rests.

• Use the pre-cut parchment sheets to line pans for easy clean-up. One sheet per pan will get you through the entire recipe. You don't need a new sheet of paper every time you put a pan in the oven.

• Using a 1-inch cookie scoop makes beautiful cookies that are of uniform size. Sometimes I will use my finger to "pack" the dough into the scoop to make sure it's full. The scoop really speeds things up.

The recipe makes 120 cookies. That's 10 dozen! Plenty of cookies to enjoy. Plenty of cookies to share. Perfect with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk.

I am convinced (no actual proof) that these cookies keep better and longer when stored in a metal tin. Years ago seems like we just had tins around, left from bought treats. Now I have to seek them out and this is the time of year to buy them. Dollar stores have them right now on the Christmas aisle.  I did see some at the store that were metal with a plastic "window" in the lid. I'm sticking to my all-metal theory and I skipped those.

One day I'd like to find some that are not seasonal. But at the moment, these will have to do. I gave some away last week—BEFORE Thanksgiving—and no one seemed to mind that the tin said Merry Christmas.

GINGER COOKIES

4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups shortening
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses (I used Grandma's Molasses Original)
3/4 cups sugar (for rolling)

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening with an electric mixer on LOW speed for 30 seconds. Add the 2 cups sugar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.

Beat in eggs and molasses until combined. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. (My KitchenAid handled all the flour.) Stir in any remaining flour mixture by hand.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in the 3/4 cp sugar. (A 1-inch cookie scoop makes this easy.) Place 1-1/2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. (In my pans that is 5 rows of cookies, 4 to a row.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 9 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned and tops are puffed. DO NOT OVERBAKE. (Try the first pan at 8 minutes and then decide if 9 minutes is better.)

Cook on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack and let cool. (I just put them on paper towels on the counter to cool.) 

Makes about 120 cookies

Miss Doris' Cookies

When I gathered the recipes from the knitting day at the lake several weeks ago, I asked one knitter to please add her cookie recipe to the collection. We didn't have these cookies that day at the lake, but she always brings them for the snack table at our knitting retreats. In my mind, I connect these cookies with knitters and knitting.

I was completely surprised when I got the recipe from her. I have eaten many (too many) of these cookies and I look forward to seeing that Tupperware container appear on the table every time we have a retreat. Some of our snacks are homemade. Some are not. There is never pressure on anyone to "make" something. And that makes the homemade goodies extra special.

These homemade cookies—yes, they still qualify as homemade—get 4 stars for easy. Because they start with cake mix! I would have never guessed.

Here is the recipe exactly as I got it from Miss Doris. The notes are hers. (Miss Doris, for the record, is very much a Mrs., but my children always called her "Miss Doris" when they were little, and the name lives on.)

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
     This is an old recipe from the side of a Duncan Hines cake mix box.

Makes about 3-1/2 dozen two-and-a-half-inch cookies.

1 box Duncan Hines Deluxe II White Cake Mix
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I use 1 cup. I like nuts. No nuts are okay, too.)
3/4 cup oil
1 egg (DO NOT try to make without egg—makes a disaster.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, stir all ingredients together until well mixed. Drop from teaspoon onto an uncreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes. (My oven requires less time, 7-8 minutes, depending on the size of the teaspoon drop. Just keep an eye on the cookies for the first pan full.)

Cookies will be white in the centers with a slight brownish colored edge. (The chocolate chips will burn if cooked too long.) Cool on cookie sheet for about 1 minute and then place on a rack to finish cooling.

For folks who can't have nuts, divide the dough and put nuts in only half. Sometimes I take a fork which has been dipped in water and flatten the cookie dough out after I have dropped onto the cookie sheet. This will make a thinner cookie and more crisp.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I whipped these up in no time this morning after breakfast. There was one egg left in the carton, exactly what this recipe calls for. That's as good a reason as any to bake cookies, right?

I used yellow cake mix because that is what I had. So know white or yellow cake mix works equally well.

Stir the dry cake mix to break up any lumps. Same thing with the brown sugar. I line my cookie sheets with parchment to speed the clean up. And I just moved the warm cookies to a paper towel to finish cooling.

This would be a great recipe for moms who realize at bedtime they need to send cookies to school the next morning. I typically keep a box or two of cake mix on hand. Often it's a buy-one-get-one-free deal. And it's a convenient jumpstart to dessert when time is short.

I will tell you that boxed cake mix used to be 18 ounces. It's now just over 15 ounces. That's a significant decrease in the dry ingredients. When I first stirred this up, I thought the dough was almost like batter. A thick batter, but I still wondered if they would spread too much. The dough sat a few minutes while the oven finished heating. And as the dry ingredients absorbed the liquid, it was fine. The dough spread just as any cookie recipe would.

One day I'll ask Miss Doris about her note not to skip the egg. Sounds like there is a story there!

Wedding Weekend Goodies

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, Milk Chocolate Cookie Bars,
& Ooey Gooey Butter Cake Bars

Near the end of the wedding dinner dance, the bride and groom borrowed the mic from the band, and addressed their wedding guests. Sweet, heartfelt words that made everyone smile and go "awww..." and made a few guests shed a tear. Jessica said she was happy to have new "bonus parents." What a lovely phrase to use instead of the typical word "in-laws."

We were all happy that both families could spend some comfortable time together in those long hours before the wedding ceremony. Let's be honest. The lead-up to any wedding is stressful. Thankfully, our stress was more of the high energy, eager anticipation kind. While hair and make-up was being done on the wedding day morning, excited chatter and lots of laughter filled the cottage as we got to know each other better.

The bridesmaids, three from each family, quickly became one family. They paired up, finding new best friends. Baby Girl, age 4, was nearly inseparable from the 5-year-old niece of the groom. Little Sister, age 7, felt very grown up as she buddied up with "that middle girl" who is 9. Little Sister understands being a middle sister. The biggest age spacing was between the two oldest, but I was happy to hear Big Sister giving words of advice to the oldest of the groom's nieces as they talked about school.

The new mother-in-law (or "bonus mother" as Jessica put it), being very thoughtful, sent us a huge tin of baked goodies to enjoy during the weekend. This resort was like a village, with lots of colorful cottages where guests stay. The cookie tin made it from her cottage to the groom's blue cottage. He was in the process of delivering it to us when his sister spied it and mistakenly took it back to their big family cottage.

The almost mother-in-law, who baked these goodies, was unaware that this red tin was still traveling from cottage to cottage—but had not made it to us. She asked me at the rehearsal dinner if we had enjoyed the cookies, I had heard that she had baked something for us, so I mumbled some generic words of thanks. The next morning the new bonus mom arrived at our brown cottage for hair and makeup, with a big red cookie tin in her hands. She thrust it forward and laughed, "I wondered why I got that underwhelmed response last night when I asked about the cookies. I DIDN'T KNOW you didn't have them!"

Well, those goodies were wonderful! And delicious! And appreciated! And we gave proper thanks to the baker. We nibbled before the wedding. But when we got back to our cottage after the wedding, at nearly midnight, they were devoured. I knew by the time I went to bed, there were two left. The morning after the wedding, I was up early and headed for my coffee and those last two cookies. And I was greatly disappointed to see that someone beat me to them.

I settled for the crumbs. And asked for the recipes. I still have that red tin, so I can fill it up again. But I'm sure the next batch won't be nearly as good as what we enjoyed during that wedding weekend. Those cookies got an extra measure of love mixed in with the butter and sugar.

Every flavor was someone's favorite. The Ooey Gooey Butter Cake was my personal pick. And, lucky for me, the easiest to make. You've got time to make these for your royal wedding viewing this weekend. Pair them with a cup of tea and you can pretend you're a guest at the royal wedding,....while watching it on TV in your pajamas!

OOEY GOOEY BUTTER CAKE BARS

1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup butter (16 tbsp), melted, divided
1 (8-oz) block of full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine cake mix, 1 egg, and 1/2 cup (8 tbsp) of butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13-inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth Beat remaining 2 eggs. Add the beaten eggs, vanilla and remaining 1/2 cup (8 tbsp) butter and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar and mix well until all is incorporated.

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cake batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little bit gooey—but not so gooey that they completely fall apart. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Dust with a little extra powdered sugar before serving.



For the record, 1 cup of butter is 2 sticks. Look on the butter wrapper. Each stick is 8 oz.

Knitting Retreat Cookies

I'm in the process of packing for my favorite knitting retreat. It's my favorite because it was the first knitting retreat I ever attended. Since then, I've found others and I love them all. Each one has it's own flavor. And it's the differences that make them all fun.

One thing all the retreats have in common is the snack table. Everyone brings something to add to the mix. Often now the table is filled with fresh fruit and healthy nuts and assorted teas. I've surely taken apples. But I've also taken these cookies to all the retreats I've been part of—except this one.

At a retreat last year on the second day, the retreat leader asked, "Who brought this container?" as she waved the plastic Gladware in the air. It was mine. She added, "This is the first container on the table to be emptied!" It was the container I brought full of these cookies.

It's a great recipe to add to your collection. I've made it so many times. My daughter ("Mommy" here on the blog) has probably made it even more times. I found the recipe years and years ago in the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook I received in the early 70s. It's not in the cookie section. It's behind the tab labeled "Easy Meals."

The actual name is Glorified Grahams, but around here they are beginning to be known as "those knitting retreat cookies."


GLORIFIED GRAHAMS

24 graham cracker squares, divided into "sticks"(that's about two packs from the box)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans

Line a 15-1/2x 10-1/2x1-inch pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Break crackers into individual sticks. Then line up the the graham crackers on the bottom of the pan. Melt butter and mix in brown sugar. Spoon over graham crackers and spread to cover if necessary. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. Let cool. Break apart.


I lift the foil from the pan to easily remove cookies. One pan of these fills an 8-inch square foil pan if you are taking them somewhere. This time I only had a 9x13-inch foil pan on hand. It worked pretty well, too.

If you notice that the recipe pictured says "Makes 24" it's because the original recipe called for leaving the graham crackers in squares. We always break those squares in half to get more cookies.

Now I'm headed to finish packing. I'm about to shut down this computer for the next week. I have the knitting things sorted and bagged. But I need to make sure I pack the suitcase. And actually put it in my car in the morning! On my first time there...I went to the retreat—my suitcase didn't. Long story. But I made a trip to Walmart and managed to get by for a few days. I don't plan for that to EVER happen again!

When You Need Cookies Fast

Glorified Grahams

This has been one busy week. I drove into my driveway late yesterday. And I'm headed out again today. This time to a knitting retreat in the mountains. Looks like the temperatures will be much cooler than anything we've seen so far this fall. Which means I need to think about packing more carefully than my usual throw-a-few-things-in-a-bag approach. This is the first time I've had to think about jackets and socks and sweaters in a very long time.

My information also said to bring something for the snack table. Snacks are a big deal at knitting retreats. Snack foods, coffee, knitting and friends. Maybe not in that order, but that's what knitting retreats are about.

It just isn't in my soul to take store bought cookies to a retreat, but goodness I didn't have time to bake. And then I remembered this recipe. It is as old as the hills. I found it years ago in my 1971 Better Homes & Garden New Cookbook in the section marked "Easy Cookies."

Man, I don't know how many times this recipe has saved the day for us. Mommy who is our family's expert baker made a cake for a church function a few weeks ago and the cake was a "throw away" (her words.) So she quickly whipped up a batch of these and sent them instead. Every time we've every taken these, someone wants the recipe. Many of you may already have it. But if you don't, here you go.

 
I usually have the four ingredients on hand. It only takes minutes to put together. The note in my own cookbook says, "This is my go-to recipe when I need just one more thing to serve."

I feel better about my snack contribution now.

GLORIFIED GRAHAMS

24 graham cracker squares, divided into "sticks"(that's about two packs from the box)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans

Line a 15-1/2x 10-1/2x1-inch pan with aluminum foil. Then line up the the graham crackers on the bottom of the pan. Mix butter and brown sugar. Spoon over graham crackers and spread to cover if necessary. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. Let cool. Break apart.

I lift the foil from the pan to easily remove cookies. One pan of these fills an 8-inch square foil pan if you are taking them somewhere.