Cookies Take Flour

Having never tried putting the chocolate chip cookie recipe in a pan to make bar cookies, I decided to break with tradition and try that this morning. I could see that it would save time and simplify the process. What I could not understand was why when I had tried to follow the directions so explicitly the cookies just would not get done. I decided maybe they needed to cool to look right--but they still weren't done and I stuck them back in the oven and kept cooking them one or two minutes more. Finally I gave up, but they just weren't right. "Well," I told Gerald, "I will never try that again."

Driving to town this afternoon to Katherine's and thinking about my bar cookie fiasco, it finally dawned on me what was wrong. Although I had measured out the flour, I must not have added it. Sure enough when I home, I found the unused measured flour on the counter with all the cookie-making ingredients and paraphernalia I had managed to pile on to the counter.

While I do not have a pan of bar cookies, I do have some rich, crunchy, yummy crumbs that I think will make a topping extraordinaire for vanilla ice cream. With a maraschino cherry on the top, I think I've got a new winning dessert. I will put the ice cream in some of the pretty sherbert dishes I've collected from the Salvation Army store. We'll see.

Fortunately, I had also made a couple other cookie recipes, so I had cookies to contribute to the plates we take to our shut-ins when our church carols even though I didn't make the caroling this year.

I am still enjoying the after-glow of our annual women's Christmas gathering at Jo Barger's house on Monday night. The first two people I saw when I walked in were our friends Zella Cain and her daughter Donna, who had brought her. We all have prayed for Zella, who was so upset because she broke her hip right before Donna's son's wedding. Zella is back home from Rehab, and Donna and other children are temporarily staying with her. She handles a walker with great skill and is looking great.

Using ancient song sheets someone typed years ago, we sing and sing Christmas songs ranging from "Up on the House Top" and "Rudolph" to the serious carols.

Another tradition is Jo's display of the little skiers on cotton for snow and skaters on a mirror for ice. Jo has many other decorations for the season, but I look forward to seeing the skiers and skaters every year.

Of course, we all also look forward to the bountiful buffet she prepares for us with a host of various sandwiches, dips, and goodies. And, a choice of her special green punch, served in Santa Claus cups and on the other end of the laden table is hot cranberry tea. If we can't make up our minds, we have some of both.

This year Kim Barger had our devotinal, and she finished with sharing a beautiful children's book The Small One. Our group has a fondness for children's literature, and Kim's having her niece Bethany on the piano bench with her as she read made the story even more attractive.