Home & Away: Move to Dumont

Move to Dumont--good idea or great idea? All of the sisters love Dumont, MN. We just can't help it. It's where our mom grew up and a place that always makes us remember those summers as little kids. There were always kittens on a farm either in North Dakota or in Minnesota. 

1. This weekend.

Ok, I know I haven't posted anything in a while. I get it. A blog has to be updated pretty often--otherwise the blog's readers (hello, Kathy) become frustrated. So, it's time to get cracking (or crackin') again.

Matilda is ready for this to be done...also for me to throw her sparkle ball.

I've spent most of this evening compiling a Halloween playlist (Marilyn Manson: Sweet Dreams, Julee Cruise: Falling, Nick Cave: Red Right Hand, The Misfits: Monster Mash, Screamin' Jay Hawkins: I Put a Spell on You, The Cramps: I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Nouvelle Vague: Bela Lugosi's Dead. It's all coming together now.) and rearranging the furniture in my living room. Yes, the construction mess is nearing completion.  Well, I hope it is. See? The wall is painted. The outlet doesn't work, and I discovered that the light fixture (removed from the ceiling like a month and a half ago) is also broken, but I will console myself with this completed structure. I will put things in front of it. What's the other half of the room look like? Oh, I'll show you. Right this second.

So many piles.

Yikes, right?  Perhaps tomorrow I'll move some of this somewhere. Perhaps.


But before I started in on this project, I pulled out the old Dumont cookbook. Why? The plan was to make cookies, and then to call Catherine and tell her I was making cookies. So she'd know I have cookies and be jealous. Duh. Well, guess who was waiting for me when I opened that cookbook. My pal Drusilla Friedly. She knows her cookies, and I trust her implicitly (and honestly, most of that trust is generated by her name). So, here's her recipe for:

The "special" is cream of tartar. Or do you have a better guess?

Special Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Drusilla Friedly

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup butter (softened)

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 cups flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup chopped pecan nuts (as opposed to just pecans)

1 (6 oz.) pkg of real chocolate chips (I used an extra dark chocolate candy bar, broken into pieces)

Mix the first 5 ingredients well. Sift the flour (like I'd ever sift anything), cream of tartar, salt, and baking soda together. Mix well. Add the real chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by sugared spoon (Wait. What? I didn't do that. I don't even remember reading that.) and shape ball on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until browned.

Note: If dough is too thin, add a wee (her emphasis) bit more flour so cookies don't spread so while baking. 

Perfect!

Would you believe I'm eating one right now? If you said, "No, I do not believe that."-- you are, in fact, correct. I laid a trap for you and you almost fell into it.  I have the hiccups, for the second time today, and have been alternating between drinking massive amounts of water and holding my breath. So, I am not currently eating a cookie...though I would like to eat one. Soon...very soon.  

Weekend baking II (only 5 days late)

I committed myself to bringing a dessert to the zombie movie afternoon event with Aaron (which featured Night of the Creeps, tacos, and kittens!), so Sunday evening brought more baking. Until like 11:30 at night. Jeez.

This church was right across the street
from my grandma's house.
Sadly, it no longer exists. The church, that is.

When I need to bake something delicious, and I'm not really sure what that something is, I turn to my Centennial Cookbook, published by St. Peter's Catholic Church, Dumont, MN (1899-1999). I decided on peanut butter cookies because I didn't have any chocolate in the house, and then I realized I didn't have any peanut butter. OK, that's a lie. I did have peanut butter, but it had been in the waaaaaay back of the fridge and was all crusty and white, so I tossed it (wisely, I think). I did have a lovely jar of almond butter, safe and unopened in the cupboard. It seemed like fate.

For reals.

Peanut Butter Almond Butter Cookies
by Drusilla Friedly (seriously)

1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup almond butter
1 tsp. baking soda (dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water)
2 3/4 cup flour (or 1 cup, depending on how things are shaping up)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla



Cream the butter and brown sugar. Mix in the white sugar and almond butter (or peanut butter if you have to). Dissolve the baking soda in hot water and add to the bowl. And you guessed it: mix that shit up. After all that mixing, you'll want to add the flour a cup or so at a time. Mix some more until everything is all mixed up. (Maybe take a little rest after that. You should probably also sample the dough. Heck, have a little more. By now it's almost midnight and everyone else is asleep, dreaming delicious dreams. Back to it.)

Imagine the perfect cookie dough and then
make that dream a reality.

The dough should be firm--I don't know how to describe it and Drusilla certainly doesn't provide any hints. You don't want it dry, but also not overly moist--that's where your reserve flour might come into play. (The original recipe calls for 3 cups. 3 whole cups? That's last resort flour right there. I find that less works best.) Shape the dough into little balls about the size of a walnut. Press them flat with a fork so it makes that nice peanut butter cookie lattice (the part I forgot). Bake at 350 degrees on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Be generous with your sampling.



Don't you bring that flat baby in here!

The end result is not actually that pretty...this time. I forgot to make the cross-hatch marks. I've only got one hatch and it's nowhere near crossed. And I'm quite aware the cookies came out looking like giant-eared, flat baby heads. I know! But they are very delicious, and the almond butter adds a subtly different flavor. Recommend.