Bean Loved her "Sweet Treats..."

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     My Mom would tell the story of how, when she was a child, a woman asked her if she had a sweet tooth? My Mom said she thought about this for just a moment and then opened her mouth wide and pointed to her teeth before declaring quite delightedly "they are all sweet teeth!" Bean, as my Mom was affectionately called, loved her sweets but her first treat of choice was always a cookie. 

     Growing up our kitchen counter cookie jar was never empty much to the delight of the neighbor children. That was the kind of house my Mom ran, a house I'm sure she dreamed of creating when she was young, one where everyone was welcome to come in and make themselves at home knowing they could help themselves to the delights in the cookie jar, (or the frig depending on how hungry they were). Her personal indulgence was a cookie or three with a cup of hot, strong, black coffee. And...she was a dunker! When I was a kid I would groan when she dunked and wrinkle my nose at the layer of crumbs floating in her cup which she would delightfully slurp up at the end. Parents, what could you do with them?! 

      Needless to say Bean's vast cookbook collection has a fair number of cookbooks dedicated to baking and even more specializing in the art and baking of cookies. She could whip up a batch of sugar or oatmeal raisin cookies without the need of a recipe and frequently would just invent something new with whatever was in the pantry. And speaking of her pantry it was never short of cookie ingredients from chocolate chips, to all kinds of nuts, dried fruit, coconut, and countless little bottles of extracts from Rum to Peppermint. 

     I came across this fun little Western cookbook entitled "Sweet Treats From the Wild West" by Chase Reynolds Ewald and Amy Jo Sheppard and knew it was time for a long overdue blog post. And besides I hadn't baked in a while. And of course I chose a cookie recipe to try in Mom's honor. This first edition cookbook was published by Gibbs Smith Publisher, Layton, Utah in 1999. I thought it especially fitting as the forward, written by B.Byron Price the executive director of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center starts off by sharing his memory of his Mother and her love of baking on their family ranch in New Mexico. "In true ranch style," he writes, "she often decorated her pies with local cattle brands made from strips of dough laid over the pie filling." I thought to myself that his Mom and mine were cut from the same cloth ever creative and imaginative in the kitchen. Cooking and baking simply delighted them!

     About the authors...Ewald founded a non-profit guest ranch called the Breteche Creek Foundation on the eastern edge of Yellowstone in 1991, now of which appears to be run by the Audubon Society. She has since published 10 books on design, architecture, cooking and traditonal western  craftsmanship as well as being a writer and photographer featured in many western lifestyle and design magazines. 

     Amy Jo Sheppard taught environmental education at various outdoor schools all across the United States and was a back country guide in Glacier National Park,  as well as eventually being the head chef at the Breteche Creek Ranch before finally becoming a director. She also wrote another cookbook called "New West Cuisine: Fresh Recipes from the Rocky Mountains." 

     As always I chose one recipe to try and this time it was a cookie recipe of course, Cowboy State Peanut-Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. They come together fast and easy and have a chewy and fluffy texture rather then being dry and crumbly like many tradtional peanut butter cookies. Bean would have approved. 


                                     Cowboy State Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks) I actually used margarine

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (okay I used chocolate chunks and more than a cup, these are big cookies)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Cream butter and peanut butter together; add sugars and blend well. Add eggs one at a time, then beat in vanilla. In seperate bowl mix flour, baking soda, and salt together. Add to sugar/butter batter. Mix in chocolate chips. They suggest using an ice cream scoop but I just used a large spoon. Place on ungreased cookie sheets about 4" apart. Wet your hands and flatten cookies with your palm. Bake about 14 minutes until golden brown. Let cool on sheets until firm. Note; of course you can make these smaller but a larger cookie is somehow fitting. 

     These were delicious, and yes chewy and soft not at all dry. Bean would have loved these. But...be warned, if you are a dunker these fall easily apart and fast. How do you know you ask? Well, out of curiousity and as a tribute to Bean  I dunked! Big mistake, what a mess! I obviously lack in proper dunking technique but here's to you Mom, in gratitude for your Legacy of Love. 

"Delish" as Bean would always say!



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