2001 - Ghost Writer

2001 was the first year I lived in England, away from my family. When I came home for a visit, I brought The Cookie Diary with me. Lisa made this entry from her side of the pond:

This was a year of firsts for the Carr bake shop. First, the week before Thanksgiving, I made Chex Mix for the girls. Personally, I can do without it! I have never done Chex solo but I believe Kevin would have approved. 

Lisa bought one of these for each of us.

I went right on to People Chow, from the cookbooks I bought for us at Cracker Barrel (Gooseberry Patch: Magic of Christmas, 2001). It's made with Rice Chex, peanut butter, chocolate chips and powdered sugar. It was good while warm, but once it got cold, nobody wanted to eat it. 

Then I did a test batch of Snicker Doodles. They were yummy with a great texture. 

On Dec. 3, with the kids' help, I made about 6 dozen Nestle's Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies and four dozen Snicker Doodles. I also made my first ever Pumpkin Bread (this may explain why I left the pumpkin out of the first batch!). So I made six loaves with pumpkin and three without - but all loaves were equally delicious.

I made four batches of Snicker Doodles - eight dozen - on Dec. 15. They turned out beautifully. They were difficult to mix - someone lost the paddle attachment to my KitchenAid. So, I tried to make do with the dough hook.

Danielle, Rachel and April were present for all sessions. They were all helpful - getting cookie sheets ready, measuring ingredients, and cracking eggs. They also are quite adept at rolling and sugaring the Doodles. I have plans and ingredients for fudge, Poor Man's Cake and more Pumpkin Bread.

Snicker Doodles

1/2 c butter, softened

1 c sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c flour

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Beat butter on high for 30 seconds. Add sugar, soda and tartar; beat till combined. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in flour. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.

Combine cinnamon and 2 Tbsp sugar in a shallow bowl. Roll balls in sugar mixture and place on baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.

Bake 10 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

*Keep dough chilled while waiting for batches to bake. If dough gets warm, it wont spread right, leaving fat cookies. I got better results flattening the balls with the bottom of a glass for more even baking.

People Chow

1/2 c butter

1 c creamy peanut butter

2 c milk chocolate chips

17 1/2 oz pkg corn or rice cereal (Chex)

1 lb. powdered sugar

Combine butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips in saucepan. Melt over medium heat, stirring often. Pour over cereal and mix until thoroughly coated. Place cereal in a paper sack, sprinkle in powdered sugar. Fold down the top of the paper sack and shake well. Makes 3 pounds or about 12 servings.