Cookie Monster!

The universe was calling to me.

I mentioned my favorite cookies, "Black and Whites," in my most recent posting and then a cousin of mine sent me an email requesting a favorite recipe.

Also in the mix was the fact that my wife and I had visited two Dunkin Donut restaurants recently, one during our trip to Ithaca last week and another when we went to the movies the other day, trying to get a cup of hot chocolate.  We were rebuffed by both places, "No hot chocolate...we're out!"  They had coffee, but we wanted chocolate.

So, now I have that craving going and a fear that we'll never get another hot chocolate at a Dunkin Donut's shop again...what's with that?

So, here's what I figured.  I have to get the recipe out, I want something chocolate, and I all ready mentioned my favorite cookies...it was all a go!

The recipe is simple...and this is a double batch so I get about 16 cookies.

Mix 2 1/2 cups of flour with 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of salt.  Set aside for a minute.

Mix 2/3 cup of buttermilk with 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  Set aside for a minute.

Mix together 8 tablespoons of softened butter (1 stick), 1 cup of sugar and 2 eggs.  Beat the butter and sugar together first, until well blended and then add the eggs.

Now, start adding a little of the dry flour mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture, then add a little of the buttermilk/vanilla mixture.  

Keep alternating adding dry/wet until all is added and beat well for about 3 minutes.

Butter a couple of baking sheets (I do that by taking a paper towel and rubbing about a tablespoon of butter across each sheet).  Then, drop about 1/4 cup of the mixture onto a sheet to make one cookie.  Repeat and fit as many on one sheet as you can, leaving about two inches between each.

Did I mention you should have the oven heated to 350 degrees?

Pop them in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes.

Repeat until you have used up all of the dough.

They have to get off that baking sheet quickly when done.

Scoop them right off the sheet with a flipper and place them on a cooling rack.

I use a simple icing to finish them off.


In a bowl, beat together 1 pound of confectioner's sugar, 1 stick of softened butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 teaspoon of salt.  I add about 3 or 4 tablespoons of milk, depending on how loose I want the icing to be.  You can add as little or as much milk as you like.  That makes a full bowl of white icing.

I then frost one half of each cookie with white frosting.   I use about half of the white frosting and leave the rest in the bowl to transform it to chocolate

I then take about two tablespoons of butter and melt it in a pan.  I add 1/4 cup of Hershey's Chocolate Powder to the butter, stir until moistened and then add that to the frosting that remains.  Beat it well and it all turns to chocolate frosting.

Then, I frost the other half of the cookies and voila!  Black and White cookies!!!

I love these cookies and have to remember that I can't eat six of them at one time, as I used to.

In my college days, there was a bakery across the street and they made awesome Black and White cookies.  I'd buy three or four, with a cup of coffee, and that was breakfast.


When we were at Dunkin Donuts, I spied their chocolate glazed donuts...they looked good, too.  But, no hot chocolate, no donuts.  We left depressed.

But, not to worry, the Black and Whites on my table are making up for it.

I have to admit that I am a bit of a cookie monster and my mind is usually in several places at one time.

In making reference to our favorite Sesame Street character, and cookies, I thought of a painting I had done on Monhegan Island many years ago (see how my mind wanders?).

During one painting trip to Monhegan, we were having a critique, after a day of painting, and Fred Wiley was sitting in with us.  He had befriended our leader and joined us for some of our artistic endeavors on Monhegan, as he lived there.

Here's a short piece about Fred who was a Monhegan main-stay, a great artist and wonderful wit:

http://www.pressherald.com/archive/obituaries_2010-01-07.html

Fred Wiley

After all of this, here's what I'm getting to.

I put up this painting and awaited an educated critique.

During the sessions, people might talk about use of color, tones, the drawing, the painting technique, the actual place chosen for the picture, or any myriad of things that deserved (or maybe not) attention.



The idea of the critique was to provide a place for constructive criticism, in the hopes of making the art or the artist better.

Here's my painting:

The first thing I heard was Fred's quick remark!

Cookie Monster!

I looked at him and he pointed out the eyes (windows) and the big mouth (you can almost see its tonsils)!

Everyone laughed so hard...there was nothing more to say about this one.  Each time I see this painting, I'm reminded of Fred, of Monhegan, and the fact that it's time to make cookies, cookies, cookies!!!

Christmas Cookie Crunch

I continue holiday preparations, during the beginning of this week focusing on making my annual batch of cookies. 

The picture at the right is from last year, showing a few dozen cookies after they were decorated.

We, one of my son's and I, made about 64 dozen last year.  Cookie-cutter cut sugar cookies (the recipe is a secret) that we roll out, cut and bake, and then hand decorate individually.  We probably made more than that, but there's a lot of quality control sampling that goes on during the process...you have to be sure of your product!

This year, I started without any help and managed to put up 90 dozen through the oven.

That's a record, sort of an Olympic feat for those of us who are usually challenged by just getting out of bed.  I most likely achieved that amount by mixing dough for four batches, not paying attention and kept preparing dough, when I usually do three...or I rolled them very thin.

So far, they look good.

The baked cookies are presently stored in containers awaiting the arrival of my son and his girlfriend, who have promised to help me ice and decorate them all.  Perhaps that will happen tomorrow.  It's not an easy job, as can be supported by the fact that they have used the excuses of, "Have to get up early to take the car in for an oil change," "Have to return a shirt I got for my birthday," (birthday was in March), "They say that the humidity is rising, with the rain, and the cookies will be too soft," and more.  They protest, but after the whole lot is done they manage to stick around the house more, and for some reason the cookie supply dwindles.  Hmmmm?

At this point, as a true blogger, I should put an Url in to take you to the recipe.  As mentioned, the recipe is a secret.  I can only tell you that we've used for 26 years!  Instead of a link to provide you with that information, below I provide a photo of raw dough cut by a cookie cutter and ready to go on the baking sheet, another of them on the sheet in the oven, and a third showing a group moved to a table to cool:

Maybe next year, I'll have the whole process videotaped and then you'll be able to see an embedded movie, instead of the above mentioned static shots.

Next, we'll decorate them.  Again, this blogger might be expected to share that recipe and show you the process but, again, yes the icing is a secret, another that I've used for 26 years, and it's a no-go on the video for that this year, too!

I apologize, not witty and exciting commentary, but the outcome is pretty good tasting.  I get holiday cards starting around Thanksgiving and many who know of them mention them, as if to say, "Hope I get some."  And, some will.  I have a list of "cookie worthy" persons, much like Santa's "naughty and nice."  Although, by me you can be naughty and cookie worthy.  Maybe that topic should be a blog?

In keeping with the holiday festivities, while I go mix the icing and await my helpers, and you anxiously await the finished treats, I'll share a song that I wrote for last year's family holiday newsletter.  This one came to being as I do have a terrible sense of direction and my wife has hopes that I'll get to wherever I travel, and back (I think).  Hope you enjoy it.

Oh GPS*
*Sung to the tune of Oh, Tannenbaum

Verse I

Oh GPS, Oh GPS
Wife thinks I need one for my aim
Oh GPS, Oh GPS
To me east and west, one in-the-same.

I turn left, when I should go right
I plan lunch at home, show up at night

Oh, GPS, Oh GPS
You’d save many hours from my plight

Verse II

Oh GPS, Oh GPS
You certainly could change my life
Oh GPS, Oh GPS
I’d have fewer stories for my wife

She wouldn’t hear, “I missed the sign
And ended up in Palestine”

Oh GPS, Oh GPS
What to say, but “I’m home on time!”

At this point, being a blogger and having deprived you of cookie information, I am feeling a bit of remorse for holding out on you, so I will share a site that talks about buying a GPS...now that you've read my little ditty, you might be inspired to buy one for yourself or for someone you don't want to get lost:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/144125/how_to_buy_a_gps_device.html

I might add that as far as I know they haven't come up with a device to deliberately get people lost, but one time I did change the language in my GPS to Italian (I was studying the language and wanted my own little form of language immersion) and that caused a few wrong turns!!!  But, I didn't end up in Italy, darn.

Oh well, more on the cookies as they develop....happy pre-holiday!