Joanne Fluke's Lake Eden Cookbook Part 49

2 teaspoons salt

4 beaten eggs

5 cups flour (don't sift pack it down in the cup when you

measure it)

3 cups chocolate chips

4 cups chopped pecans

Melt the b.u.t.ter. (Microwave it for 3 minutes on HIGH in a microwave-safe container, or in a saucepan on the stove.) Mix in the white sugar and the brown sugar. Add the vanilla extract, baking soda, and salt. Mix thoroughly.

Feel the bowl. If it's not so hot the mixture will cook the eggs, add them now. Stir thoroughly.

Add half of the flour, the chocolate chips, and the chopped pecans. Stir well to incorporate. Then add the rest of the flour and mix thoroughly.

Drop by teaspoons onto greased cookie sheets, 12 cookies to a standard-sized sheet. You can also spray your cookie sheets with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray or line them with parchment paper. (If the dough is too sticky to handle, chill it for 20 to 30 minutes and try again.) Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until nicely browned.

Let the cookies cool 2 minutes, then remove them from the baking sheet with a metal spatula, and transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Yield: Approximately 10 dozen.

Hannah's Note: These are Andrea's very favorite cookies. She says they're the best cookies she's ever tasted and I saved her life by baking them.

PINEAPPLE DELIGHTS.

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

2 cups b.u.t.ter, melted (4 sticks, 16 ounces, 1 pound)

2 cups brown sugar (pack it down in the cup when you

measure it)

2 cups white (granulated) sugar

4 eggs beaten (just whip them up in a gla.s.s with a fork)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pineapple extract (if you can't find it, you can

use vanilla)

4 cups flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

2 and cups chopped, sweetened, dried pineapple

(measure AFTER chopping if you can't find pineapple,

you can subst.i.tute any dried fruit chopped in chocolate-

chip-sized pieces).

cup chopped coconut flakes (measure AFTER chopping)

3 cups rolled oats (uncooked oatmeal I used Quaker

Quick-1 Minute in the round paper container that you

save, but you don't know why)

Melt the b.u.t.ter in a large microwave-safe bowl. (About 3 minutes on HIGH.) Add the sugars and let it cool to room temperature.

When the mixture is not so hot it'll cook the eggs, add the beaten eggs, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pineapple extract, mixing after each addition.

Add the flour, one cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Then add the chopped pineapple, chopped coconut, and rolled oats, mixing them in thoroughly. The resulting dough will be quite stiff.

Drop by teaspoon onto a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard-size sheet. (I form mine into a ball so the cookies turn out nice and round.) Bake at 350 degrees F. for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, and then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Hannah's Note: These cookies freeze really well if you roll them in foil and put them in a freezer bag.

Yield: Approximately 10 dozen, depending on cookie size.

PRALINE CHARLOTTES.

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 and cups brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla