Cookie Monster -- Linda's Favorites

Blog Appetit's holiday season always starts with Clark and Linda's early December open house. My kids look forward to it for the plentiful supply of candy Linda stashes around the house, I appreciate it for the chance to catch up with old friends, admire the tree, visit with their family and celebrate the season. Who am I kidding, it's the cookies.

Tray after tray of homemade goodies, a virtual buffet of butter, chocolate and nuts combined in one interesting form after another, all of them made by Linda (with help from her daughter Zoya) and other family members.

Without further ado, here are Linda's recipes and comments. What a great friend!

Scotch Bars--an oatmeal bar cookie topped with chocolate that is easy to make and so delicious.

Cream 1 cup of butter with 1/2 cup each white and brown sugars.
Add 1 egg and 1 tsp. vanilla. Beat well. Add 1 cup each flour and
oatmeal. Mix well. Spread batter evenly into greased 13x9 pan. Bake
20-25 minutes in a 325 degree oven until bars seem fairly firm. (I like
them a bit gooey in the middle, so they have the texture of marzipan
when cooled.) Remove pan from oven and immediately spread 6-12 oz.
semi-sweet chocolate chips on top. Let stand 5 minutes, then spread
melted chocolate evenly. Let cool a bit, then cut into squares before
chocolate hardens.

Spiced Wafers--this recipe comes from my aunt Margaret, who probably got
it from a molasses bottle

Cream 3/4 cup crisco shortening, 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup dark
molasses and 1 egg. Beat well. Add 2 cups flour, 1 tsp. each cinnamon,
cloves and ginger, 2 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 t. salt. Beat until smooth. Roll
dough into small balls, roll balls in granulated sugar and place on
greased cookie sheets. Bake 5-8 minutes in 350 degree oven. Watch them
carefully, as they burn easily. I usually take them out of the oven
before the 8 minutes is up and allow them to sit on the baking pan for
another 3 minutes before moving them to cooling racks. They firm up
when cooled, but the middle is still chewy and the spices make them so
tasty!

Cookies