Confessions of a Cookie Hater

OK, I don't hate cookies, I love cookies. I hate MAKING cookies. I realize that seems a little sick for a mother of 6 to admit, but I just loathe the task.

It takes too long, there's too much "babysitting" involved, not enough room for error-I could go on.

The sad and sorry fact is, I make them anyway. I make them for those darling upturned faces with big doe eyes pleading for a treat. No, not the dog, the kids.

Of course, I prefer things like bar cookies so I can dump it all in one pan and cut them up when they're all done. I'll post 2 recipes for starters-one a bar type and the other a cut-out (ugh--cut outs are the WORST time-killers!)

This first recipe has a little story behind it (bear with me if you've already read the Family Favorites page).

My Grandma Foster made a "cookie" that we always called "Grandma's Chocolate Squares" that we all absolutely love. My mom made them every year for Christmas and when I started my own family I too made them for the holidays.

My oldest brother attended a potluck of sorts at a convention that was filled with international cuisines. At one table sat a woman with a plate piled high with our Grandma Foster's Chocolate Squares~except they weren't called that, they were called Nanaimos. Of course Bob asked what the heck that stranger was doing billing our Grandma's cookies as not only her own, but as something by a different name.

Of course she set him straight and explained what they really were. Nanaimos were the winning cookie in a contest held in Nanaimo BC and really are sinfully delicious. I've seen many variations since then but this is the one that we call our "own".

Nanaimo Bars
Printable Recipe

First Layer:

1/2 C Butter
1/4 C granulated sugar
1 egg
5 T cocoa
1 tsp. vanilla
2 C graham cracker crumbs
1 C coconut
1/2 C chopped walnuts

Second Layer:

1/2 C butter, softened
3 T milk
2 T instant vanilla pudding
2 C powdered sugar

Third Layer:

1 6 oz. Pkg. choc. Chips

First layer: Mix butter, sugar, eggs, cocoa and vanilla
over hot water until it resembles custard. Add the
crumbs, coconut and walnuts. Press into a 9 X 9-inch
square pan. Cool.

Second Layer: Cream butter, milk and pudding together,
then blend in powdered sugar. Spread over the first
layer and let stand for 15 minutes.

Third Layer: Melt chocolate and spread over the second
layer. Cut into squares.

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These next cookies come from the Better Homes and Gardens
Cookbook and they are SO good. When I first saw the recipe I thought there was no way that they would taste good without butter but they're awesome. If you're making cut-out cookies for Christmas give these a try! I've never made them with the orange peel and they are just as fabulous without.

B H & G Sugar Cookies ca. 1965
Printable Recipe

2/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbls orange peel
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
4 tsp milk
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Cream first 4 ingredients together. Add egg and milk and beat until light
and fluffy. Stir last three ingredients together and add in two parts. Mix
thoroughly. Chill covered tightly at least 1 hour (overnight is okay).

Mix 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Use small amount of mixture to
roll cookie dough out 1/8 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters or biscuit
cutter. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 8 minutes or until very
lightly browned. Cool on wire rack. Glaze or frost and decorate with
decorator icing.