Marily J. called these cookies Disappearing Oatmeal Cookies. They did–disappear, although the kids claim not to like raisin cookies. Here’s the recipe:
Boil 1 C. raisins covered with water in microwave or on stove top. Drain before adding to cookie dough.
Cream together:
1 C. butter
1C. brown sugar
1/2 C. white sugar
Add:
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 C. all purpose flour
3 C. regular oats (instant is OK, too)
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

So here’s Shannon and Whit’s recipe:
One can of orange Shasta soda
Lots of vanilla icecream
Blend. Voilla.
Beware: to much pop and pop goes the blender lid.

Check out this recipe in the comments section of Gotta Have Homemade.

Kokopelli Karen’s Pizza Crust & Sauce

Bread Recipe:

Soften 1T. yeast in 1/4 C. warm water in which a pinch of sugar has been added.

From here on I use the DUMP method for making bread.

6-7 C. bread flour (You may use any %whole wheat to refined white flours. I usually use 50/50.)

1/3 C. sugar

1 scant T. salt

2 T. oil (olive)

1 egg

2 1/2 C HOT water.

Mix in KitchenAid or similar appliance.  Add foamy yeast water and let knead for several minutes.  Adjust amount of water or flour according to how wet the dough looks.  My dough is fairly sticky.  After rising and kneading once more (in the metal bowl with the dough hook of course) the dough usually pulls away from the sides of the metal bowl–but, just barely.  I use flour to handle the dough and divide into two lumps for two cookie sheet pizzas.

I form the pizza crust.  It rises for 5-10 minutes and then I prebake at 425 F the crusts before applying sauce, cheese, pepperoni, ham, pineapple, olives, whatever.

Pizza Sauce:

Combine the following in a microwave able measuring cup or bowl:

One small can of tomato sauce (6-8 oz.?)

1 t. oregano

1/2 t. rosemary

1 T. olive oil

2 t. sugar

1/4 t. pepper

salt if necessary (Taste the canned sauce first.  It may be salty enough.)

Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes.

OK. I changed the recipe name. Jake made these cookies and they are great. He didn’t use choco chips or nuts in the cookies I ate:
1 C. butter
1 C. white sugar
1 C. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 C. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. soda
2 1/2 C. oatmeal (Measure then pulverize in blender.)
1 tsp. baking powder
12 oz. chocolate chips
4 oz. Hershey bar, grated
1 1/2 C. nuts
Mix butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla together and beat for 4 minutes. Add flour, salt, soda, oatmeal, and baking powder to 1st mixture then add chocolate chips, grated Hershey bar, and nuts. Bake at 350 F for 8 to 10 minutes. Don’t overbake. Doubles easily.

I’ve included a link to my family blog where darling Dan is modelling his new hat.  His favorite color? ORANGE! http://kokopellikaren.blogspot.com/

I’ve been having fun shoveling snow.  Most of the time I borrow my brother Paul’s 4-wheeler with a shovel.  Turns out to be fun attacking all that white stuff with machine.  All that shoveling tires me out and then I sit and knit at night.  I was lucky enough to win a pair of knitted slippers from Jeanee S. at a YW’s Christmas party.  I knit them in the round from the toe and use three needle bind off at the back of the heel.  Very quick knitting with doubled yarn and size 7 needles.  I’ll write up instructions upon request.

Be sure to click on the comments for Gingersnaps.  Jeannee has left  a pumpkin/cream cheese dip recipe for these cookies.  Now that’s somewhere for my Jack-O-lanterns to go.

Gingersnaps

From the kitchen of Sandy Garrett

A decade ago I lived in Ft. Collins, CO.  Sandy Garrett was the Activity Committee head and planned a beautiful Night of the Nativity at a ward members home/barn.  As we left the barn (stable) with the live animals and baby Jesus we were each given a spicy, rich gingersnap.

I had to have the recipe.  The cookies are flat.  In fact, Sandy said to drop the cookie tray onto the kitchen counter after taking them out of the hot oven in order to make the cookies fall.  My cookies always seem to fall without the added help.  The cookie dough is very sticky.  Remember to use that small ice cream scoop for perfectly sized cookies.

Cream:

1 ½ C. Shortening

2 C. Sugar

2 Eggs

 1 ½ C. Molasses

Sift and then add to above:

2 tsp. Baking Soda

4 1/3 C. Flour

2 Tsp. Cinnamon

2 Tsp. Ground Cloves

2 Tsp. Ginger

This makes a very sticky dough.  Roll into balls the size of walnuts and roll in sugar.  I simply scoop mine and plop the dough ball into the bowl of sugar.  Place nine (versus the normal 12) cookie balls per cooking sheet because these cookies spread. 

Bake for 10 minutes at 375 F.  The cookies will look under done, but you will able to lift the edges.

They looked so good, BUT…Aynie’s first try at making carmel apples seemed to be a success.  She bought several pounds of cubed cello-wrapped carmels at Macey’s and washed, dried some perfectly-sized apples.  Friends helped her unwrap all those little critters.

She melted the carmel in a pyrex bowl, dipped the apples then dipped them again in melted chocolate.  I don’t know how long she cooked the carmel in the microwave, but the carmel was not chewable.  It was terribly hard.  Proves again that looks aren’t everything.