‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Wait. Who am I freaking kidding?! It’s the night before Christmas and you’re standing on line at the department stores because you forgot Great Aunt Ida’s gift, or at the grocery store because you forgot Cousin Timmy is allergic to celery. You’re in a panic because you can’t find this year’s hot dolly or robot or space car. You didn’t bake enough cookies, you don’t have enough clean towels, your Christmas even roast is burning, and your kids are screaming like like crack addled vagrants. IF you’re reading this it’s because you’ve locked yourself in the bathroom because you needed two seconds to find a cookie recipe you haven’t yet tried (and ruined).
So here it is. Easy and delicious. Remember how I was raving about the ranger cookies I had in Homer, Alaska?
Well I can’t say I have THEIR recipe…although that would be great. (Hey, Boardwalk Bakery Ladies!! If you want to send me YOURS I wouldn’t mind!!) But I spent a ton of time going through what felt like HUNDREDS of recipes, and what follows below is pretty damn good if I say so myself. And somewhat comparable to the taste of the ones I had in Homer.
Ranger Cookies
1/2 Cup Shortening
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, packed
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup Oats
3/4 cups cornflakes
1/2 cup coconut
1. Cream the shortening with both sugars
2. Beat in egg and vanilla. Don’t overmix
3. In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, oats, cornflakes, and coconut. Slowly add into wet ingredients mixing slowly.
4. Place heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes.
Note: Cookies will be a little soft when they come out of the oven. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before trying to remove or they will just fall apart.
I hope you enjoy these. And I wish you the most wonderful and merry Christmas. I hope it’s filled with love and joy and friends and family. And I hope you take a moment to remember the true meaning of Christmas – whether you believe in God or not, at its most basic, Christmas is about peace, love, and hope.
I’m not going to lie, I’m having a hard time remembering that today. I’m feeling a little surly, and frankly I’m thinking about those families in Newton, and some of the kids I teach who are having problems. I’m trying to remember the important things, and count my blessings; it seems difficult this year. I’m really trying though.
May you be safe and have a blessed holiday.
A Note Regarding Newton:
I mentioned this to my uncle, who is a professional photographer and he decided to participate. This is open to Southern California Residents – please share:
The Olivia Act is named after one of the children killed in Newtown. Olivia’s family had family portraits created a short time before she was taken from them. I can’t even begin to imagine how important those last photographs must be to that family. Upon hearing this, photographer Leslie Spurlock was moved to give away a 30 minute family photo shoot and has challenged other photographers to do the same.
So many of us go through our daily lives and sometimes we don’t take the time or have the resources to have family photos taken.
We will be taking nominations for a family who *you* think would appreciate this gift. This session will take place after the New Year. We will be taking your nominations until December 31st. Please send us their name, contact information and a brief summary of why you chose them to Peter@PYPhoto.com (for their sake, do NOT post their information here) and put “The Olivia Act Nomination” in the subject line. And yes, you are absolutely free to nominate your own family.
The chosen family will be contacted via email or phone call. The gift is a 30 minute session and a collection of digital portraits, so they may have priceless keepsakes to adorn their home. Please share this blog post. Thank you.
And if you’re another photographer, please consider taking part in The Olivia Act.
So forgive my tardiness on that!
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