Cookie Season

I love the way recipes are handed down like cherished gifts from loved ones, carrying memories and tastes we love to recreate. As soon as the school year starts, the requests for homemade baked goods come rolling in -- a fundraiser here, a meeting there, or a treat to to encourage or thank. I find myself turning time and again to a recipe that I received from an old friend who got it from her sister-in-law I believe.

Kitchen Sink Cookies are flexible and work with whatever delights or tasty remnants you have in the cupboard; hence, you can add in anything to these cookies but the kitchen sink. I used white chocolate and macadamia nut last week to make monster-sized cookies for a fundraiser. Often, I make really small cookies to feed a crowd or give everyone a treat without the consequences of a sugar frenzy afterward. Be creative and you will find Kitchen Sink Cookies to be a staple at your house soon, too.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

Cream together:
3 sticks butter or equivalent of vegetable shortening or coconut oil
2 1/2 cups brown or granulated sugar

Add and blend:
3 eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Add and blend:
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt

Add and blend:
2 cups whole oats
3 cups chips, nuts, dried fruit, seeds, cereal, pretzels, or any other yummy stuff  you have on hand

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes.

Yield: 8 dozen large cookies