Wagon Wheels AKA: Crack Cookies!

Dear Sweetie Pie,

No, I don’t mean “crack” as in cocaine, although some could argue that these cookies are every bit as addicting. I mean “crack” as in “cracked”, or rather the cracks that form in the powdered sugar as these beauties bake.(Got your attention, tho’, didn’t I?)

 

Actually, the cracks must have reminded some one of the spokes in a wagon wheel, hence the name.

No, they’re not similar at all.

This is an old family recipe, my sister used to make these alot. When we moved to Norway about a century ago, I asked her to send me the recipe. She faxed it to me, (this was WAAAY before we had email.

 

This is the recipe as Aunt Phyllis sent it. I always get a kick out of reading it. I thought you might, too. (The hand written notations are mine, of course.) A very simple recipe that doesn’t require fancy mixers, just a bowl and a spoon.

Wagon Wheels

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup (12 Tlbs.) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Melt the butter. When it is melted, pour it into your mixing bowl. Add sugar, vanilla, and mix well.

Add eggs one at a time, and beat well between each one. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder,baking powder and salt.

In case you have trouble with 1/8 tsp. salt, it’s about this much.

Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Add your chopped nuts and blend well.

 

Now you have a big sticky mess of dough. That’s okay, just scrape it all into a bowl, cover it, and put it in the refrigerator for a few hours.

It will be easy to roll into balls after it’s been chilled a few hours.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Form dough into balls, and roll in powdered sugar.

 

Place balls on a cookie sheet lined with baking paper. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes.

 

Fresh from the oven!

 

I hope you enjoy making these, as well as eating them! Have a wonderful day!

 

 

 

Snickerdoodles

Dear Sweetie Pie,

I love Snickerdoodles! Love, love that crispy outside, and that soft, almost cake-like inside, with a hint of cinnamon-y goodness! They are so easy to whip up, and are sure to please almost anyone. 

Before baking, always make sure you have all the ingredients. It can be very frustrating when you get all set in the kitchen and find out you’re missing a key ingredient. The key ingredient in this recipe is this:

Do not make this recipe if you don’t have cream of tartar. It just doesn’t work. Here is the recipe:

Snickerdoodles

• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Heat oven to 400 F. In a large bowl beat butter and sugar. Add eggs. Add all the dry ingredients, and beat well. Now you have a soft dough.

In a small bowl, mix together about 1/2 cup of sugar and 1-2 tsp. cinnamon. You don’t have to be real precise here.

Using a spoon, scoop up about a tablespoon of dough, and with your hands roll it into a ball. Roll the dough balls in the sugar mixture to coat.

Place the balls on the cookie sheet, giving enough room for the cookie to spread during baking. I like to put them three across for three rows.

Rub a little butter on the bottom of a glass and dip it in the sugar mixture. This prevents the glass from sticking to the dough.

Gently flatten each ball.

 

Bake at 400F for 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies are just beginning to brown around the edges. Transfer to a rack to cool a bit before you treat yourself to a cup of hot chocolate and a few fresh baked snickerdoodles.

Have a wonderful day!

 

 

Soft Gingerbread Cookies AKA: Joe Froggers

Dear Sweetie Pie,

Christmas is almost here, and you will be coming home soon (YEAH!). But in the mean time you might be want to get yourself in the Christmas spirit by making your favorite Christmas cookies. I love the name of these-Joe Froggers. There is a story behind the name. Apparently there was this guy-Joe. And he owned a little fish shack somewhere in New England. That would be a little run down dive that served up fish dinners to travellers. And the fish shack was nest to a frog pond. Anyway, he made these cookies, and he made them really, really, big. About as big as a bullfrog. Hence the name. Joe Froggers.

Now find  some cookie cutters, pull out your rolling pin, and make sure you have everything in the recipe. You might need a trip to the store to get all the spices and molasses. This recipe usually calls for rum, but I don’t keep rum around , so I use rum extract, which you can find in the spice section at the grocery store(in the same area where you would find vanilla extract).

Joe Froggers Gingerbread Cookies

• 4 1/3 cups flour
• 1  tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 3/4 tsp. cloves
• 1/4 tsp. allspice
• 3/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 3/4 cup margarin
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup light molasses
• 1 tsp. rum extract
• 1/3 cup water

Mix the dry ingredients together.

Cream the margarine and sugar.

Add the molasses and rum extract and mix in well.

Add the dry ingredients alternately with the water. (Beat in about a third of the flour mixture, add about half the water, etc.)

Scrape the dough out of the bowl ( it will be sticky) onto a big sheet of aluminum foil.

Wrap it tightly and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

The dough can sit in the fridge for several days, so you can plan a day to bake and make it a few days in advance. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375F.

Start with a third of the dough. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch.

Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters, or use a glass to make round cookies. Place shapes about 1/2 inch apart on a baking sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Don’t overbake or the cookies will be hard and dry. 8 minutes is generally enough. They should be slightly brown around the edges.

Remove to rack to let them cool. These are delicious as is, or you can decorate them any way you like.

Now you can mix up a batch of dough, and invite a few friends over for an evening of cookie baking and decorating.

Hope you have a wonderful, and enjoy your cookies!