One brunette's culinary adventure journal in the making.

  COOKIES

HOPSCOTCH COOKIES

Growing up in Calgary, Alberta summertime meant... ...working happily, with my best friend Sandy, building a lemonade stand under the Mayday tree just in time to serve my best customer (my Dad) ...... getting up at the crack of dawn, putting on my new cowgirl duds and heading directly for the Stampede Parade.....playing kick the can til dusk.....picnicking at Riley Park with my big sisters and all those noisy nieces and nephews  .....seeing how many times I could clap my hands when I let go of the handle bars...... rootbeer popsicles......rollerskating..... diving for quarters at Highwood Pool.........Archie comics.... ...vacationing in Peachland.......hopscotch....... and Mom's Hopscotch cookies, creamy delicious and a true taste of summers past. Thanks mom...

HOPSCOTCH COOKIES
The perfect no-bake summer treat.

Place over simmering hot (not boiling) water until butterscotch chips melt.  Stir until blended.  Add and stir until well coated: 1-3oz. can (or package) crispy chow mien noodles and 2 cups miniature marshmallows.  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper lined cookie sheet.  Chill until set.  Makes 2 dozen.


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TRIPLE WHAMMY SLAB COOKIES

Deliciously crunchy and buttery, a simply delectable version of the all time favorite chocolate chip cookie.  You have to appreciate how good a cookie is if you can remember the first time you tasted it........it was a beautiful Okanagan spring morning.  I was contentedly basking in the warmth of the sun and the warmth of being at my favorite aunt and uncle's house. Comfortably perched on the balcony overlooking the awakening, budding green vineyards and the remarkable blues of the lake was I.  The moment was good, but was about to get better. We always could all count on Auntie Alice to pamper us with home style goodies, so the plate of still-warm-from-the-oven cookies was not a surprise, just a delicious reminder of  pure childlike pleasure.  Comfort.  And tea.  And Auntie Alice and me, sitting munching cookies that enticed you to have another, and possibly, just because.......another.  Here's Auntie Alice's recipe - may you 
have an aunt almost as special as mine to share it with.

TRIPLE WHAMMY SLAB COOKIES
Chocolate in every bite.

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips ( or peanut butter chips)

In a medium large mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer.  Beat very well.  Add flour and vanilla.  Mix well.  Stir in chips and mix with wooden spoon to distribute evenly.  Grease a 15-inch x 10-inch cookie sheet with sides.  Pat mixture onto cookie sheet.  Bake at 350F for about 25 minutes, until golden.  Cut into squares or diamonds while still warm.  Serve with tea, or milk, or by themselves.

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This is one of my most requested recipes ever. Fragrant, softly delicious, these old-fashioned spice filled cookies take you back to warm farmhouse kitchens, to simpler days, to gramma's house all in one little bite.  They're not really snaps, more like Ginger Softies.  I've seen the most satisfied smiles you can imagine when I hand over a dozen of these cookies tied in some pretty cellophane with a ribbon any time of the year.  So throw on some golden oldies and Get Cookin'.

1 1/2 cups margarine or shortening, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 teaspoons ground ginger
Extra sugar for rolling

In a large mixing bowl with electric mixer beat together margarine and sugar for 2 minutes.  Add eggs and molasses and beat well.  Add 2 cups of the flour, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon and ginger and mix well.  Add remaining 2 cups flour and mix well with wooden spoon.
Shape into balls, roll in sugar to coat and put on baking sheet.  Bake at 350F. until tops of cookies crack about 11-15 minutes.  Depending on size of cookies, makes 5 dozen.

**Chocolate chips or crystallized ginger make a perfect addition to
     this cookie batter.
 
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Simply a good old-fashioned stand by.  A cookie that has withstood the trials of time.  A cookie that transcends generations.  Your kids will love them after school with a glass of cold milk, your friends will rave about them with afternoon tea, and your grandma will smile when she snitches one warm from the oven.

1/2 cup margarine or shortening, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
2-3 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup seedless raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a large mixing bowl beat shortening or margarine, brown sugar and egg until fluffy.  Beat in orange rind and juice.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt.  Add to creamed mixture.  Stir in oats, raisins and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls, 2-inches apart, on greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350F 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on wire rack.

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