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.

Cookie Bookie: Maple Bars and the Macabre

Welcome back to another edition of Cookie Bookie, the week long celebration of nail-biting stories and mouth-watering treats. If you weren't here yesterday, scroll down for Agatha Christie's Suprise, Surprise and some suprisingly delicious chocolate cookies.
Today, I'm sharing a book from another of the world's most celebrated authors. Jane Austen wrote about love, romance, and class distinction...but did she write about anything frightening enough to be included in Cookie Bookie? Well, yes. And no. And maybe so. Let's get started with the slightly frightening and work our way up to the downright eerie. Northanger Abbey has all of the rosy charm that readers have come to expect of Jane Austen. Heroine Catherine Morland is torn between the demands of her heart and the demands of her family's pocketbook in the form of two potential suitors. Typical Austen fare. But Northanger Abbey is also a spoof on the chilling gothic novels that had become so popular during the Regency Period. Our heroine spends a good portion of the day with her nose stuck in a spooky novel, and then superimposes eerie gothic mystery into everyday situations, to the point of suspecting her lover's father of being a murderer. Think Walter Mitty with a death wish. Catherine craves the horror and suspense, the drama and the intrigue that are standard fare in her favorite books. As Catherine wanders the dark halls of Northanger Abbey, you won't be immune to her spine-tingling perspective. Before Catherine can give herself over to true love, she must learn to respect the boundaries between truth and fiction. It's the perfect read for those who are looking for a mild case of the shivers. But look what they've done to dear Jane now. (Don't look, Mom.)
Can this pulp fiction even count as our proper Jane Austen now? I'm not sure. Have you read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies yet? It's gruesome, but I couldn't resist. Elizabeth Bennett stretches beyond proud and witty literary heroine to become bonafide bad-mama zombie fighter. The notion is amusing. If you think you enjoyed her pithy banter with Mr. Darcy, wait until she uses her muscles to express her annoyance. Hi-ya! But...after awhile I got a bit bored with the slash um' up gimmick. It just couldn't hold my attention in the effortless way that a true Austen can. Still, I did get more than one good chuckle out of it. Listen to the first line...."It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." Fans of Austen will remember the first line of the true Pride and Prejudice as "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man inpossession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is not for the squeamish, but it will do well enough for those who want to be scared silly.
Whichever Austen (or Austen-ish) book you choose to devour this October, I've got the perfect treat as a companion: A tender brown sugar bar cookie, studded with toasted pecans and tempered with a slightly salty maple glaze. It's a little fancy, a bit on the high brow side, since Austen deserves our utmost respect (tut, tut). But it's also playful, with a little touch of salt thrown over the top, to ward off superstition. Just in case the macabre really is lurking around the darkest corner of your attic. Mwah, ha, ha. Until tomorrow.
Maple Glazed Brown Sugar Bars
adapted from Taste of Home Baking Book
Estimated Cost: $5.00 for 12 squares
1 and 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
2 teaspoons maple flavoring
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
For Frosting:
2 tablespoons softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2-4 tablespoons cream
1 and 1/2 teaspoons maple extract
1/4 cup chopped, toasted pecans
pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine sugar, butter, and maple flavoring. Add eggs and mix until well combined. add baking powder and salt. Stir in flour, then nuts. Pour into greased 9 inch square baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Prepare glaze by combining butter and powdered sugar. (Mixture will be a little lumpy.) Slowly stir in cream, as needed. Stir until smooth. Add maple flavoring. Pour glaze over almost cool bars. Sprinkle with pecans and salt. Serves nine.

Be Back Tomorrow with More Cookie Bookie

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Cookie Bookie Kick Off-The Element of Surprise

Mwah, ha, ha. Welcome to Cookie Bookie 2010.
I've been bursting with excitement for this, my third annual installment of Cookie Bookie. For my new readers, one week each October, I review spooky stories for perfectly chillingly fall reads, and provide a scrumptious cookie as a suitable literary companion. I've had an entire year to read, shiver, bake, eat, and ponder. So let us begin.

Six months ago the charges and I went on a field trip to see the play, "Mousetrap" at a local high school. I didn't really expect to be frightened by a bunch of teenagers with mock English accents and developing talents, but I was wrong. Dead wrong. The charges and I held hands through the second act, and they never knew that it was my grown-up sweat that made our hands clammy. Thus began my timorous love affair with Agatha Christie. If you haven't read Agatha Christie, get started with some short stories. One of my favorites is Suprise, Suprise! an eclectic collection of some of her famous characters, like Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.

As the title implies, one of Christie's greatest strengths is her mastery of the suprise ending. (Die-hard fans are even rallying to have her endings removed from plot summaries on Wikipedia.) Her grandson reported that old Agatha would be angry at any critic that gave away any of points of plots in a review. The well-guarded suprises pack a suspenseful punch and keep the reader biting her nails till (and beyond) the last page. One of my favorite stories from the collection is Double Sin, a short and suspenseful story of Hercule Poirot and his Captain Hastings on a train ride to solve a mystery, only to encounter another mystery in the form of a gorgeous victim of petty theft. I won't spoil the ending for you, but I will provide something for you to gorge yourself on besides your own fingernails. It's this Doubly Sinful Suprise Chocolate Cookie. The suprise is a puffy marshmallow hiding between two evil layers of chocolate. Bite down and your mouth senses the tender cookie, the smooth glaze, but then your teeth can't quite take hold of the molten marshmallow, stretchy and sweet. It's perfect for reading with Agatha Christie. You'll want to sink your teeth into the plot, but there's some element of mystery that will slip deftly away from your understanding...until the end. But then it's too late, because Agatha will have you right where she wants you. And you'll have to go back for more, both stories and cookies.

Double Chocolate Suprise Cookies

recipe from Martha Stewart-Suprise Cookies

Estimated Cost: $4.00 for 2 dozen

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
12 large marshmallows, cut in half horizontally
See below for Chocolate Frosting recipe

Halloween sprinkles
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add reserved flour mixture; mix on low speed until combined.
Using a tablespoon or 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto ungreased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies begin to spread and become firm, 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove baking sheets from oven, and place a marshmallow, cut-side down, in the center of each cookie, pressing down slightly. Return to oven, and continue baking until marshmallows begins to melt, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Spread about 1 tablespoon of frosting over each marshmallow, starting in the center and continuing outward until marshmallow is covered. Sprinkle with Halloween sprinkles.

For Frosting
2 cups confectioners' sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
Place confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in butter and cocoa powder. Add milk and vanilla, and whisk until well combined.

Be back tomorrow with More Cookie Bookie!

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Best Ever Lemon Bars

This morning, while I was getting ready for church, I thought I'd save a little on our AC bill and dry my hair in front of a small fan. I was in my silky bathrobe and my hair was billowing in the cool breeze, and I couldn't help but think that this was the life-when suddenly, I felt my head lurch backwards and suck my hair into the fan. Instinctively, I grabbed onto my hair and tugged back. The fan and I were engaged in a battle-vanity versus electricity. I yelled to Sailor to come and unplug the fan. (I would never have called for West or I'd still be yelling now.) Then I did a clumsy about-face, picked up the fan clogged with my tangled hair, dragged the cord and my pride to the bathroom, and waited for the Quiet Man to finish showering and rescue me. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and all I could think was Cousin It. But it could get worse....Would I need to get a short haircut, like Anne of Green Gables when she dyed her hair green, or like Jo March when she sold her locks to buy a train ticket for Marmy? The Quiet Man, in just a towel, patiently and gently battled my enemy fan, releasing most of the frizzy mess. The fan surrendered and then held stubbornly tight, refusing to give up one last lock. Quiet Man reached inside the screen with a pair of long, shiny scissors and snipped the last prisoner-tress, and then I was free. Phew. Thank you, kind sir. I'm the antithesis of Rapunzel, but the Quiet Man is still my knight with shining scissors.

I know just to help me forget my close shave with disaster: Best Ever Lemon Bars. This recipe, like so many of my favorites, hails from Ina Garten. These really are the Best lemon bars, not too sweet, not too tart, and just the right soft consistency. Their yellow color is so sunny, cheery, and bright, making them perfect for a summer dessert. (Or a summer pick me up after an almost accidental haircut. Gulp.)

Post Edit: The missing piece of hair is , as it turns out, not missed. I can't even find the spot anymore.

Best Ever Lemon Bars

Estimated Cost:

$6.00 for 24 servings

Notes: Get a big bag of lemons for the best deal-then use the extras to make homemade lemonade. Don't even bother with a half batch of these bars. Make the whole darn thing, cut them up, and take some to a neighbor.

Ingredients
For the crust:
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
For the filling:
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.
Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.
For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.
Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.
Next Up:

Recipes for the Fourth of Joo-lye

Oatmeal-Peanut Butter Raspberry Bars

School is almost out around these parts and even we obsessive homeschoolers snap the whip just a little bit less often in the summer. Those last few weeks of school are hard-going. I think it's because human beings have a tendency to psychologically prepare ourselves for only the designated amount of time required, and no more. If we know school gets out on June 1st, then we start dreading school around the end of April. If we know a marathon is 26 miles long, then we start feeling wiped out around mile 20. If we know that a pregnancy is nine months long, we start to gripe and swell around month seven. Well, I usually complain my way through the whole thing, but still. So here's what I propose: tell the kids that school gets out in August. Then on June 1st, surprise them by yelling "School's Out!" and promptly squirt them with a bottle of silly string. I think it might just cure end of school year burn out. And if that doesn't work, you could always try these oatmeal peanut butter- raspberry bars. They seem like the perfect afterschool snack, especially when you've got a passel of hungry little mouths around 3:30 PM. When I was babysitting a million and one babies last week, I got the idea for these bar cookies. I never actually made them, because I was babysitting a million and one babies. See how cute they are. This is just a sample section, since they couldn't all fit in one picture. Aren't they sweet? They're hungry too, and sick of school, so you better get mixing. My family found them to be the perfect afternoon snack. They were hearty and delicious, and the perfect cure for May's sick-of-school blues. Hang in there, kiddos. You're almost there.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars with Raspberry Preserves
Estimated Cost: $2.50 for 12
Notes: These would be delicious with just about any flavor of jam or preserves, so be creative.
1/2 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter (don't use natural style)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour (I used half whole wheat)
1 cup old fashioned oats
3/4 cup raspberry preserves
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 8 or 9 inch square baking pan. In a large bowl, cream butter and peanut butter with brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Stir in powder and salt. Gently mix in flour, then oats. Pat half of mixture into prepared pan. Spread with preserves. Crumble remaining mixture over the top of the preserves. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until golden brown and set. If you want them to slice perfectly, let them cool and then chill for 30 minutes. If you don't care, dig into them warm with a tall, frosty glass of milk.
Next Up:
Rhubarb Strawberry Jam

Chocolate Oatmeal Almost Candy Bars

Welcome to tempting Tuesdays, the day in which I bake an alluring treat with members of my on-line baking club, Tuesdays with Dorie. Hubba, Hubba-This one's a corker. First you lay down an oatmeal cookie crust, then you top it with fudge-you know that same fudge we were all busy eating during December...

Last, comes aother sprinkle of cookie dough, encasing the fudge in a chewy oatmeal package, just like a candy bar.

And here is where the story ends, or rather begins. Because as soon as I pulled it out of the fridge from cooling, my sister and her six kids showed up for their MLK weekend visit. I couldn't slice these bars fast enough. Poof!-gone, just like that. They are mighty, mighty good.

Are you still on a January diet? Then bookmark these babies for February. Recipe here.

And for the sweet love of Pete, please head over here and vote for WEST in the Jif's most creative peanut butter sandwich. Just take ten seconds to register and then vote for his MORE ROCKIN MOROCCAN PEANUTTY PITAS. There's a hefty $25,000 scholarship as prize.

Next Up:

Muligatawny (Chicken Curry Soup) in the Crock Pot

Want another cookie?

Hello, Monday morning. I miss Cookie Bookie already. Do you? If you didn't catch one, you could scroll down for any Cookie Bookie posts from last week, or you can check out some of my favorite treats and reads from last year....Spicy and Soft Ginger Cookies. These are some of the cheapest cookies on planet earth to make, and yet they taste so lovely.

Chocolate Buttermilk Cookies are so purdy with candy corn on top.

Pecan Praline Cookies are another genius cookie from Martha Stewart. Sometime I skip the cookie and put the frosting on ice cream. Very, very bad in a very, very good way.

Come back on tomorrow.

I've been waiting almost two years for my turn to host Tuesdays with Dorie. It's finally here. You are cordially invited to my party. See you tomorrow.

P.S. I cannot make this last picture go away. It just won't take a hint. So for some reason, some one out there must need this bottom picture to make their life complete. So here it is, like a high school boyfriend, outstaying its welcome for who knows why.

Chipster Topped Brownies

This week's assignment for Tuesdays with Dorie's weekly baking club is a base layer brownie topped with a chocolate chip bar cookie. It's a naughty treat leapfrogging on top of another naughty treat, and it's no simpler than making the two on their own. To work fast, you will need two able bodied men. If none are available, seek out two pint size charges, preferably with clean hands and bored expressions. Have them mix up the batter side by side, while you dump in the ingredients; no sense in getting out the sugar twice. There, now that's done. After we had just poured the batters into the pan, my mother convinced us to run down to the high school and see the grad night decorations. The charges were game (as usual) even though I didn't really want to go (as usual), but my mother is awfully good at convincing me to come along (as usual).

The entire gym was decorated in a Night at the Museum theme.




It was so fun and fabulous that we had to call my Dad and the neighbor and the Quiet Man and convince them to come up and take a look too. (My mom did the convincing; she's much better at it than I am.) When we raced home to pick them up, our weekend guests (3 of my sister's families with a combined total of 10 kids under the age of 10) had already begun to arrive, so my mom convinced them to come up and see it too. Some of them even stayed for the kick off fireworks, but I went home to work on my chipster topped brownies. And then we very nearly gobbled them all up before I could snap a picture. This was all I got:They were declared extremely yummy by all. (Click here for the recipe.) I thought they were a wee bit much, myself. I'd rather take each element separately, in its classic form. Also, I made a half sized batch but I baked it in a full size baking pan, which was plenty thick enough and helped stretch the recipe enough to serve the multitude that I call my family. And speaking of that multitude, there were finally enough people around for me to justify making jelly donuts. That's next....

Hope you all had a safe and happy Memorial Day.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

There are so many events worth celebrating this time of year: weddings, baby showers, mom and dad's day, recitals, end of year parties, and of course graduations. And even though my little ones are learning at home, I've never been one to turn away an opportunity for a potential party. My sister Heidi suggested that we come for a weekend visit and have a mini homeschool graduation together for our pint-sized scholars. Decked out in black construction paper graduation hats with yarn tassels, the students solemnly marched forward to Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance. My Westy-boy gave a report on ancient civilizations focusing particularly on Ancient Egypt and China, followed by my Sailor-girl's study on World War II and post war communism. Heidi's little girl explained the importance of the -at family for reading words like cat, rat, bat, and even that, which is always good to remember so you won't get stuck when plowing through Dr. Seuss. And for a little comic relief, Heidi's little boy shared a collection of his favorite riddles. He has a strand of hilarity woven into his DNA from his dead-on witty dad, so it's good to know he is honing his skills to entertain us for the rest of our lives. After receiving their diplomas, rolled into a tube and tied with yellow ribbon which led West to falsely believe it was a pirate map, we gathered the group into the car and headed to an indoor bouncy warehouse. We saved treats for last, because speaking from experience, it is always better for everyone to bounce before eating treats. Because I said so, that's why.

And now, these treats will see you through all of your important events. They require less active prep time then a batch of cookies, but they have all the chewy appeal of a gooey chocolate chipper, plus a caramel- like richness from the brown sugar. They pack up perfectly, without any messy melted chocolate chips, and if you don't slice into them you can even make them a day ahead. Best of all, kids from one to 92, will find them inexpressably delicious. And that makes any kind of party a success.

Money Saving Tips:

This is one recipe that doesn't bake well in a half batch, so don't be tempted to halve it. You can freeze any extras, or better yet, wrap them up and take them to a neighbor or co-worker that could use a little pick me up. Leave out nuts on this one to make it more universally appealing at a party, plus it's cheaper that way. Look for butter on sale (or buy in bulk from a warehouse store) and be sure to stock up when you find it.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Estimated Cost: $4.00

1 cup butter, softened

1 and 3/4 cups brown sugar

1/4 cup granulate sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups all purpose flour

1 and 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with no stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, cream butters and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, stirring well. Stir in powder, soda, and salt. Add flour and gently stir until just incorporated. Add chips and scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake for 38-42 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Let cool before slicing...if you can wait.

Coming Tomorrow:

Miniature Mango Snack Cakes