Friday, October 15, 2010

Cookie Bookie III: Ribbons of Moonlight

Welcome back to Cookie Bookie, my week long homage to good reads and tasty treats. We've covered Austen and maple bars, Christie and gooey chocolate cookies. Follow along everyday by clicking the link in the upper right side bar. Tell your friends to follow along too; there's always room for more at my table.
Did you miss me? Some of you wrote me e-mails wondering where Cookie Bookie was for today. It is here, never fear. I spent the night up with Sailor and her lingering flu that has now become croup, and this morning at the Dr.'s office and then off to get a prescription filled that needed special permission since it is a "controlled" substance (read cough syrup). I'm a wee bit late, but I'm still here. E-mail me anytime to wonder about my whereabouts, dear readers. It's lovely to be missed. Without further ado...Cookie Bookie!
Except today's book isn't really a book at all. It's a narrative poem titled "The Highway Man," written in just two days in 1906 by Alfred Noyes. It spins the tale of two young lovers, an impeccably dressed, suave thief and Bess, the beautiful black haired landlord's daughter. Bess waits longingly for her black hero by the window at night, but a jealous stableman betrays them to the authorities, resulting in..... I can't spoil the ending. (Agatha Christie would turn in her grave.) You'll have to read it yourself- out loud please. Here's a little teaser. Listen to the beautiful description of the night in the first stanza.
The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
I'm sorry to interrupt, but I love the way the words "the road was a ribbon of moonlight, " and the "moon was a ghostly galleon" create such a vivid, eerie image. Breaking the lonely silence, is the dashing highway man, galloping along the road. The rythmic repetition of the horses hooves are felt in the meter of the poem, pulling the reader along for the ride.
And the highwayman came riding—
Riding—riding—
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.
What will become of this dashing villain and his gorgeous young lover? Read the poem in its entirety here to find out.
And now, a delicious nibble to accompany a delicious read. It's a hearty peanut butter- oatmeal cookie, "strung with ribbons of moonlight," in the form of melted Candy Corn Hershey kisses. The cookie is crowned with a full kiss, like the one that the Highway man plants on Bess's black hair. Hugs (and Kisses) and Happy Haunting. Kisses Candy Corn Autumn Cookies from the Hershey's website
(thanks to my friend Anna at Cookie Madness for the inspiration)
Estimated Cost: $6.00 for 4 dozen
3/4 cup REESE'S Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups quick-cooking oats, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
66 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Candy Corn Flavored Candies (find them at Target)
Directions:1. Heat oven to 350°F Beat peanut butter and shortening in large bowl until well blended. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together 1/2 cup oats, flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in remaining oats; place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten cookies with tines of fork to form a crisscross pattern.3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.4. Remove wrappers from candies. Place 18 candies in heavy-duty resealable plastic food storage bag. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 30 seconds; knead bag and candies. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM an additional 15 seconds at a time, kneading after each heating, until candies are melted and color is uniform. Cool slightly. Cut off corner of bag about 1/8 inch from point. Lightly drizzle cookies. Before drizzle sets, place candy piece in center of each cookie. About 4 dozen cookies.
Be Back Tomorrow with more Sweet and Spooky good times.
P.S. Some readers will remember the poem from Anne of Green Gable's recitation at the White Sands Hotel. Here's the link on youtube.

26 comments:

  1. I abhor the look of zero comments. So I'm commenting to bring it up to one. There, things look much friendlier now.

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  2. I have never seen Candy Corn Kissses! That's a new one on me :)
    Happy weekend!

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  3. Hey, I've been trying to pull your page up for a couple of hours, otherwise I would've been FIRST to comment. These are such unique and cool halloween cookies! I thought those were actual candy corns you were melting and thought "oh weird" but it's a whole new kind of candy I've never even heard about ! Woot!

    Also, I'm glad you added the clip from Anne of Green Gables. The highwayman and the Lady of Shalott were my favorite poems as an adolescent because of Anne.

    I checked out the CREEPIEST picture book on the Highwayman. It got the Caldecott medal and oh my GOSH it was so scary. My kids couldn't even look at it. I took it back immediately, but I must give it kudos for being creepy. It was that indeed.

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  4. Oh and poor little Sailor, bless her heart. Sick all week and croup on top of it! Well, she's lucky she's got such a caring mommy.

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  5. Adrienne,
    Thanks for thinking of Sailor. We've been watching videos of your family. Your kids are just absolutely adorable. That Charlotte! I love her little Charlotte language. What a dolly. I can't believe how big Eleanor and Sterling are. Your family needs to come for a visit soon!!!!

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  6. Aw, I hope she's feeling better.

    The cookies look good. Those kisses are cool!

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  7. I can just picture Anne Shirley reciting "The Highwayman" while Gilbert watches her from the audience. That poem will always remind me of Anne of Green Gables. The cookies look adorable. Thanks for the great recipe! I hope Sailor feels better and that the Pennywise Family have a great weekend!

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  8. What a sad poem! With my terrible memory, it was like hearing it for the first time right now. :) I love Halloween, spooky stories, and your Cookie Bookie week.

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  9. "Ohhhhh Annne!"
    This was a great pick and made me think of Anne being deliciously scared.
    I wondered where you went today and thought it was blogger's fault or my computer's.
    Laurie would love these cookies. She loves the acorn candy kisses.
    I hope Sailor feels better soon. It's so awful to be sick. That is unless you get to be the invalid and lay on the couch with a good book, and have everyone bring you cups of icy, cold water and a good cookie. Then it's perfectly fine to be sick.

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  10. Katie, It is a bit sad, isn't it? It's hard to not love the Highway man, flawed as he is. I can't help but think of Johnny Dep and Kiera Knightley in the roles, if they ever to make a movie from poem. I think they actually did a while ago, but I'd like a new one.

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  11. I do love a good mystery or suspense novel (sugar coated and DEFINITELY not gory). One of my favorite parts of Fall is curling up with a good book and a cup of cocoa,which by the way, would go perfectly with today's recipe! Hope Sailor is feeling better soon, and I hope you do not catch her bug(one of the joys of motherhood).

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  12. Tighwad mom, you are right. Cocoa sounds pretty darn good, except it's 87 degrees outside today. Tonight, however, I'm opening up the window and drinking my chocolate!

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  13. I love the look of those candy corn kisses. Do they taste like candy corn? The cookies look delicious. And I've never read the highway man, but I'm off to do it, now.

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  14. Catherine, They taste like candy corn with white chocolate. I loved them best in the drizzle; the whole kiss on top was alot of candy for me. Good luck, hope you like them.

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  15. Leslie, I didn't see your comment until now. I thought of you so many times tonight. We went to Barnes and Noble (Shane had his birthday gift card) and then got chips and salsa from Chili's to bring home. You would have been so happy. Next time you come up, let's do it. Thanks for the Sailor sympathy. She's in bed with two new books that she bought herself, from her reading prize from the dentist's office. She bought The Graveyard from Neil Gaman and some rainbow magic fairy book. Eclectic taste, right? I won't even tell you what West bought, since it actually sucks the intelligence right out of you. He's been reading lots of high brow stuff lately, so I guess he needed some silly comic book. I bought a book of Poe's short stories to read on the plane and some of Emerson's essays. Shane got some Robert Louis Stevenson, and some William Least Heat-Moon adventure stories plus Atlas Shrugged. We're all happy tonight.

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  16. Chips and salsa, good books and a good cookie! There's not much better than that in my book!
    I have read 2 Neil Gaiman books hoping I could like science fiction. I only kind of could.
    I read How Pleasure Works which I really enjoyed.
    I bought the book on line and when it came, I had read every author quoted on the back cover. Not just every author, but every each author had written. So, that was kind of fun to realize.
    I ordered a few more for our trip and am waiting for them to arrive. I want to download some on my ipod for the plane as well.
    It sounds like you had a fun night. You and I have spent hours together in book stores on trips, and next time I come up we'll do it again.
    I'm writing again on your comments and I hope you don't mind.
    If you get a chance look at the trailer for the movie, Wild Grass. It looked so interesting.
    I was so anxious to see it, and went last week because it was the very last night. When I got to the theater window they had canceled the last showing. I could have screamed, and actually did. I never got to see it but it looked really interesting.
    A woman's purse is stolen and a man returns it.
    The man then becomes obsessed with her and writes her, emails her, even slashes her tires---in a humorous crazy way, until he can finally meet her.
    You'll have to see the trailer and let me know what you think.
    Well, I've gone on and on but thanks for letting me.
    I'm glad you had a good night with your whole family and that everyone got something wonderful to read.
    It's the perfect end to your Cookie Bookie week.

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  17. These look great! I'm not sure if we have candy corn kisses in Canada, but I love the look of the cookies.

    On a side note, a Canadian singer named Loreena McKennitt has put "The Highwayman" to music - it's fantastic!

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  18. Prudelicious, did you miss meee?? I'm sorry about that. I was stuck in Chile with 32 other guys. But I'm back now. Your poem reminds me of this man who, everyday, is on the highway for 8 to 10 hours only to come home to his fair maiden, not in the window waiting or with black hair, but in bed reading with a tinted hue of brown hair tucked under a baseball cap. Here's a passage from this little sonnet:
    "The kids were a torment of darkness even in the day. The moon was no refuge for sleep, for they did not. The road only led to the couch the Highway Man longed for."
    Cookies look great :)

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  19. Syx miles,
    I did miss you! I didn't want to put any pressure on you, seeing as you were trapped underground in mi pais de Chile, but I'm glad you're out! Thanks for my weekly laugh. Can't wait to get one DAILY in just a few more days. Shalom!

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  20. My seventh grade English teacher had us memorize a poem every week, and this was the one we did for the week of Halloween. (I also remember learning the hags' chant from Macbeth that month). I still love it.

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