Shades of Grey

These cold, grey days will drive a housewife to do two things:

Drink [Hot Toddy, anyone?]
& Bake [Oatmeal Cookies ala Betty's New Boys and Girls Cookbook]

So, don't mind if we do - do you?

The recipe for this gullet-warming drink will cure what ails you, and if you like brandy [she's a fine girl], it suits you to a tea:

Hot Toddy
1 tbsp honey
3/4 glass hot tea [of choice]
2 shots [or whatever your day demands] brandy
1 slice lemon

Brew tea and fill a tall glass 3/4 full. Mix in honey. Mix in brandy shots [definitely plural]. Add lemon slice and get under an afghan, already!

Next, preheat [then repeat - with another Toddy]
You can judge a cookbook by it's sticky pages [no, I'm a lady and I'm not going there]. And just looking at the love Betty Crocker's New Boys and Girls Cookbook (c)'73 reprint has received for this recipe alone shows you how stellar these cookies must be:

Stir-'n-Chop Oatmeal Cookies

"Just about the best cooky there is for an after-school snack...with a tall glass of milk."
[...or a hot toddy, for mommy]

Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Stir together in bowl:
1 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ginger [pssst... this is the secret ingredient!]

Add:
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 cup rolled oats (that's old-fashioned nowadays)

Mix in thoroughly:
1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 tablespoons milk 1 egg

Stir in:
3/4 cup chopped walnuts if you like [nah, we like chocolate chips better!]

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Makes about 3 dozen cookies [if you're stingy - plan to double this recipe to achieve 3 dozen - otherwise, after you've gorged on dough you're down to about 12 cookies w/the recipe Betty suggests].

This cooky [that spelling is kooky - don't you just love it?] recipe is the equivalent to a quickie - in any form. You don't have to get out the mixer. You really - really - do just stir it by hand. I was done mixing and baking [two batches] in way under 30 minutes. And by way under, I mean in 27 minutes [forget you, Rachael Ray]. The cookies are more cushy than crunchy, so if you like them soft, what are you waiting for? In less time than it takes to watch an episode of Donna Reed [or Real Housewives] you can have a batch. Baker beware: they will fall apart in your hot toddy when they become saturated with whiskey.

kitschy-kitschy,
heidi