Joanne Fluke's Lake Eden Cookbook Part 30

1 small jar of maraschino cherries for a garnish

Melt the b.u.t.ter and add the white sugar. Stir well.

Mix in the eggs, vanilla extract, cherry juice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the chopped pecans.

Add the flour in one-cup increments, mixing after each addition.

Crush the corn flakes and put them in a small bowl. 4 cups of corn flakes will yield approximately 2 cups of crushed corn flakes. (I put them in a plastic bag, seal it, and then crush them with my fingers.) Form walnut-sized dough b.a.l.l.s with your impeccably clean hands. (If the dough is too sticky, chill it for a half hour or so and then try it again.) Roll the dough b.a.l.l.s in the crushed corn flakes and place them on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard sheet. Smush them down a bit so they won't roll off on their way to the oven.

Cut the cherries into quarters and place one on the top of each cookie. Press the cherry down with the tip of your finger.

Bake at 375 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes, or until nicely browned. Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, and then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Yield: 6 to 7 dozen pretty and delicious cookies, depending on cookie size.

Hannah's Note: These cookies freeze well. They also hold up well for packaging and shipping.

CHIPPERS.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

1 and cups softened b.u.t.ter (3 sticks, pound, 12 ounces)

1 and cups white (granulated) sugar

2 egg yolks

teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 and cups all-purpose flour (no need to sift pack it

down in the cup when you measure it)

1 and cups finely crushed plain salted potato chips (mea-

sure AFTER crushing)

1 and cups finely chopped pecans (measure AFTER

chopping)

teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional) (zest is just

the colored part of the peel, not the white)

cup white (granulated) sugar for a topping

approximately 5 dozen pecan halves for decoration

Hannah's 1st Note: Use regular potato chips, the thin salty ones. Don't use baked chips, or rippled chips, or chips with the peels on, or kettle fried, or flavored, or anything that's supposed to be better for you than those wonderfully greasy, salty old-fashioned potato chips.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the b.u.t.ter, sugar, egg yolks, salt, and vanilla until they're light and fluffy. (You can do this by hand, but it's a lot easier with an electric mixer.) Add the flour, one cup or so at a time, mixing after each addition.

Mix in the crushed potato chips, chopped pecans, and lemon zest (if you decided to use it). Mix thoroughly.

Form one-inch dough b.a.l.l.s with your impeccably clean hands and place the dough b.a.l.l.s on an UNGREASED cookie sheet, 12 to a standard-sized sheet.

Place the cup of sugar in a small bowl. Spray the bottom of a gla.s.s with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, dip it in the sugar, and use it to flatten each dough ball. (Dip the gla.s.s in the sugar for each ball.) Place a pecan half in the center of each cookie and press it down slightly.

Bake at 350 degrees F., for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are starting to turn golden at the edges. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes and then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: Approximately 5 dozen yummy, crunchy cookies, depending on cookie size.

Hannah's 2nd Note: Mother loves these when I use orange zest instead of lemon zest. Since the orange flavor isn't as strong as the lemon, I use one whole teaspoon of orange zest when I bake Chippers for her. I also subst.i.tute one teaspoon orange extract for the vanilla.

CHOCOLATE ALMOND TOAST.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

1 and cups melted b.u.t.ter (3 sticks, 12 ounces, pound)

1 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)

2 and cups brown sugar

5 large eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a gla.s.s with a fork)

4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 cups flour (not sifted pack it down in the cup when you

measure it)

1 cup slivered almonds