FRENCH LACE COOKIES

These are the LAST COOKIES IN THE BOOK!!!!!!!! It has been fun but I am looking forward to a break from baking and with UH on vacation, my largest group of tasters are on hiatus...it was nice that this exercise perfectly dovetailed the UH schedule. The best from 1960-1970, they are good but not my favorite. They are similar in look to the Butterscotch lace cookies but the taste is different as they are made with finely chopped walnuts and corn syrup. Instead of using a mixer the dough is actually cooked in a pot. The hardest thing is to get them off of the tray after they sit for few minutes to harden. The directions say to lightly grease the pan but it might be better to grease it well. I couldn't figure out why some came off easily and some were a problem. Oh well....I am done! Anyway, it has been an interesting challenge with some old favorites ( snickerdoodles) revived in my memory and other new ones ( chocolate crinkles) that I will add to my favorite list. At some point I will get around to scanning the recipes of the ones that were good and post them. Otherwise, if you want a specific recipe just let me know and I will email it to you! The most important lesson learned: NEVER make cookies using cereal!!!! Thanks for being good readers and tasters!!!! Aloha!

BONBONS

These were the "rage" from 1955-1960 when women supposedly went crazy for cookies that looked like candies. I really dreaded making these for some reason but they weren't as bad as I had anticipated. There were several steps but nothing that was too difficult. The dough is wrapped around some "surprise" in the center, I used pecans or chocolate, but you could also use cherries or some other candied fruit. After the cookies are baked, they are iced with a colored icing and then dipped in a topping, I used coconut but you can use colored sugar or chocolate. The biggest mistake I made was to tint the frosting with yellow ( the only color of dye I had left!!!) but it ended up looking like the cookies were iced with mustard!!! Oh well, they were very tasty but a bit sweet.

SALTED PEANUT CRISPS

I liked these!!!! The dough was a basic brown sugar cookies with salted peanuts added....even better than cookies made with peanut butter in the ingredients. I will see what other people have to say about the cookies. Only two more recipes to go!!!!!!

HOLIDAY FRUIT DROPS

These cookies are supposed to be the favorites from 1945-50 and they were pretty good, especially if you like brown sugar nutbread! The one change I made from the basic recipe was to omit the dates as I really, really hate dates. I added extra cherries and pecans to compensate and it was fine. I think these would be good included in a plate of holiday cookies!

CARAMEL REFRIGERATOR COOKIES

I am getting close to the end of the book and was excited about these as I love caramel...almost as much as molasses! This recipe was Betty's best from 1940-1945, which was the time of World War II. Because of rationing, bakers switched to brown sugar and limited butter for cookies and by refrigerating and slicing the cookie, they made the dough go farther. All the previous are wonderful things but the cookies did not have enough butter or sugar to taste like caramel. They were crispy but the taste left something to be desired..maybe should be retitled "brown sugar refrigerator cookies".

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Betty's best from 1935-1940.......the years when the original CC cookie was introduced to the world! It was created at the Toll House Inn in New England and swept the country. This recipe is very similar to the one on the chocolate chip bag but with a bit less sugar and I like it not quite so sweet. There are only a few recipes left and this has timed out well as UH is no longer in session and so the largest group of tasters are gone!!

MOLASSES CRINKLES

The best of 1930 to 1935! Anything with molasses is great in my book and these cookies are good but more crisp than the chewy kind that I like. I played with the amount of time I left them in the oven and they tasted burned before they got really crisp. Oh well, I still haven't found the perfect recipe yet!

BROWNIES

Betty says that brownies were created when a chocolate cake fell. They were all the rage during the Roaring Twenties so this is the favorite recipe from 1920-1930 and its a good one! These brownies are moist, tasty and easy to make....almost as good as the Ghiradellli box mix.
Enjoy!

GINGER CREAM COOKIES

Betty's best from 1900-1910! A nice spice cookie, very cake-like, but the dab of lemon icing on the top makes it a good cookie. I don't think its a great cookie but would be a good addition to a plate of holiday cookies. I just sampled a cookie ( I am writing this the morning after) and the icing is still firm and didn't melt away. It was not too humid last night which may account for it. These are very good with my coffee and would be even better with tea. I will know put it into the very good category after the morning tasting! Enjoy!

OATMEAL DROP COOKIES

This was the best cookie from 1900-1910, according to Betty! What sets this cookie apart from other recipes is the addition of molasses....I love anything with molasses. They were delicious right out of the oven but will have to see what they taste like today after a very, very wet night. Hope this rain let up soon!