Cookie Bookie VI: Girl Detectives and Mysterious Ghosts

Welcome to the final days of Cookie Bookie.

It's my third year to dedicate an entire week to shivery stories and sugary sweets. Scroll down if you've missed any posts. Don't forget to follow along by clicking on the sidebar in the upper right corner. Today is extra special, since my 9 year old (going on 19) daughter Sailor is guest-posting.

Hi, everybody. It's me, Sailor. I'm really excited to be a guest blogger today. Maybe I'm a little bit nervous, too. I hope you will like what I have to say. I am a big reader. Actually I am a little reader with a big appetite for books, and a big appetite for cookies too. Ha, ha. I read lots of scary stories and then I have trouble sleeping at night, but it never stops me. It's impossible to put down a good book, especially when there's a villain lurking in the shadows ready to pounce on you the moment you close your eyes. My favorite scary stories are the Nancy Drew Mysteries. Today I'll be sharing one of the best: The Ghost of Blackwood Hall. If you like Nancy Drew Mysteries, then you know that the stories follow a certain formula. Nancy finds a mystery to solve and meets the villain in the first couple of chapters, then she spends most of the book hunting him down. She makes a lot of mistakes, and I always feel like shouting, "Don't go in there, Nancy!" but she never pays any attention to her readers. Ha, ha. In this book, Nancy hears mysterious organ music and then sees a disappearing figure, a ghost in Blackwood Halls. Later she meets a woman who has seen the ghost of her dead husband. The ghost asked her to bury her jewels in the woods by a walnut tree. Later she decides to go back and get the jewels, and when she takes them to be cleaned she discovers that they are all fakes. Can a ghost be a jewel thief or is there a human being posing as a ghost? Read the story and find out for yourselves. (Doesn't this sound a little bit like it could be a Scooby Doo episode? Zoinks! Ha, ha.)

I have a cookie to go along with this bookie. I made the cookie all by myself (except for slicing and taking them out of the oven). My mom didn't even know I was baking until she smelled the good smell in the house. I made a peanut butter oatmeal bar, covered with thick dark chocolate to remind me of Blackwood Hall. Then I placed a marshmallow ghost on each square to remind me of the ghosts in the story. I think they are really yummy. You can put chopped peanuts instead of ghosts on top for grown-ups.

Well, that is all for my Cookie Bookie, except I have a question. I'm trying to decide if I should wear my last year's witch costume for Halloween, or this new Mary Poppins costume that my mom made. I really love my witch costume and it might not fit next year. What do you think?Would you please help me decide? Leave me a comment! Maybe I should be Nancy Drew next year. Thanks, love Sailor
The Ghost of Blackwood Hall Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

from 101 Gourmet Cookies

Estimated Cost: $3.00 for 20

1/2 cup softened butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup peanut butter

1 eggs

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 scant cup whole wheat flour

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 cup chocolate chips

marshmallow ghosts or chopped peanuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter, sugars, vanilla, and peanut butter. Add egg and stir until well blended. Add baking soda, then flour and oatmeal. Pour batter into greased 9 by 13 inch pan. Bake for 15 minutes and remove from oven. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and let stand for five minutes. Spread chocolate over bars. Let cool completely (yah, right!) and cut into squares. Cover with chopped peanuts of a marshmallow ghost.

Thanks, Sailor! A plus, kiddo.

Next Up:

The best Cookie Bookie for last: the scariest book I've ever read and my new favorite cookie. See you tomorrow.