Recipe: Noel Chews

(Having hosed the family cookie recipe twice this season, I am writing down the recipe EXACTLY as my mother just dictated it to me over the phone.)

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup brown sugar
5 Tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped pecans
powdered sugar

8- or 9-inch square cake pan
DO NOT DOUBLE in pan or mixing bowl. DO NOT DEVIATE.

Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in an 8- or 9-inch square pan.
DO NOT USE OTHER SHAPES. DO NOT USE NONSTICK COATING.

Beat 2 large eggs and set aside.

Firmly pack 1 cup with Domino's light brown sugar - from the box, not the bag. Very product specific.

Add 5 Tablespoons of flour to the sugar.

Add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to the flour and sugar.

Mix dry materials very well.

Add 1 cup chopped pecans. Mix again.

Add 1 teaspoon vanilla to eggs, stir well.

Mix the wet and dry thoroughly. Pour into buttered pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350. A knife should come out clean.

Let sit in pan for 10 minutes before cutting and turning out into a plate.

Let sit about another 2-5 minutes, then dust tops with powdered sugar. Let the sugar sit for about 10 minutes, then flip over and dust the other side. Let that sit for a little while longer, then flip back and redust the top.


Hork down your body weight in those things over the next few days.

(...oh, wait, that last bit was me, not Mother.)

All Things End

For a couple years now, I've been taking myself on Wednesday night "dates" - I take myself out to dinner at a brewpub in the next town down, followed by "Knit Night" at my local yarn store. I recently discovered that there are even a couple of Little Free Libraries in the area that I was going to check regularly when the weather got better.

When the weather is better, my beloved yarn store will be no more. They're going out of business soon.

It's not just the shopping I'm going to lose. It's the night out. It's the education and help I got there. It's the many casual friendships that I made over Knit Night with people that I now likely will never see again.