Ranger Cookies

These are a scrumptious treat that have been around so long that no one seems to know where they started. I asked my mom where she discovered them and after admitting she had no memory of their origin, referred me to her sister, Auntie Kitty, who said my brother asked for them one day out of the clear blue. Without shock or surprise, he too was clueless.


Through a series of inquiries and interrogations, the story I've pieced together is that Auntie Kitty saw the recipe in the newspaper one day and cut it out, a habit she maintains to this day. According to her, Kyle heard about these "really cool cookies" from his friends on the playground and begged my mom to make the Ranger Cookies one afternoon. 


This was before the convenient days of the internet, so where should one turn to find a recipe they didn't already have? You call Auntie Kitty, Queen of Sweets, who over the years has logged thousands of recipes from various publications. My mom did as all of us do, which led to our introduction to Ranger cookies, a move that hooked us for life.

Between Elizabeth and me, I am definitely not the baker. I find it to be a tedious and laborious process that I usually mess up during the step where you measure the ingredients. I don't like the fact that I can't fix my mistakes the way I can when I am cooking. I have even been known to screw up a pumpkin pie, a crime in the Sutherland clan. Any baking knowledge I have at all I owe to my mom’s side of the family. Every holiday was chock full of any sweet imaginable: 47-layer cakes, pies, Mexican wedding cookies, walnut laden fudge and lollipops to boot!

These cookies are my saving grace. They don't make me sweat, they don't scare or give me anxiety before I take them out of the oven. They are so simple to make, I don’t even bother with an electric mixer. If you choose to mix by hand as well, stir to combine ingredients after each new addition. This will prevent clumps from forming and keep the batter smooth--a trick I learned from my Auntie Kitty. Another tip is that all ovens are different, and things do not always bake according to the specifications of the recipe. Because of this, she advised me to check the cookies 2 minutes before the suggested time. When the cookies are done, their bottoms will be a lovely golden brown color.  

One last thought on the matter: These cookies could almost be called "butter-pecan ice cream cookies". They are studded with pecans and buttery while still being flakey and light. Plus, they have coconut, which happens to be of my favorite foods... of all time! Please, take my word and try these cookies already. 


Ranger cookies are best eaten fresh out of the oven with a tall glass of cold milk.

Happy eating,

Lindsay

Ranger Cookies

1 cup butter, room temperature (2 sticks)

1 cup white granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed

1 egg

1 cup oil

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup corn flakes, crushed *

½ cup shredded coconut

½ cup pecans, chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla

3½ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  If you have an electric mixture, use the paddle attachment to make the dough. Otherwise, a regular medium-sized bowl and some good ‘ol fashioned elbow grease will be just fine.

Begin by creaming the butter. Add both the white and brown sugars until light and fluffy. Add in the egg** and oil and mix well. Add oats, corn flakes, coconut, pecans and vanilla. Stir well until ingredients are fully incorporated.

Measure the flour and level with the flat side of a knife; sift onto a cutting board or parchment/wax paper. Working in batches, little by little mix the flour into the wet ingredients. Add salt and baking soda. Mix well.

Form dough into 1-inch balls, taking care that they are uniform so they bake evenly. Place dough balls on an ungreased cookie sheet, 1 ½ to 2 inches apart. Flatten them with a fork dipped into water. Bake for ten minutes, or until cookie bottoms are golden brown.

* I’ve found that the best way to crush corn flakes is by first measuring the cereal, then putting it in a ziplock bag and crushing with your fist or rolling pin.

** As I've watched Ina Garten do time and again... It’s best to crack the egg into a small bowl before adding to the mixture. That way, if you happen to get a bit of shell in, you can fish it out before it gets lost forever.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have a confession to make.  I don’t bake cookies to eat them; I bake cookies to eat the dough.  Sure, I might bring myself to eat one or two once they’re out of the oven, but truly, there’s nothing that leaves me in more joyous anticipation than the promise of a bowl of cookie dough, especially that of the oatmeal chocolate chip variety.

I attribute my love of baking to my grandma; Grammy, if you will. She baked for the hell of it.  For one month every summer my sister, mom and I would live with them at their home in the Napa Valley. During lazy afternoons, in between hours spent in the pool, running through the vineyards and sprawled on her bed watching “Saved by the Bell” re-reruns, she would announce, “Girls, I was thinking of baking something today.”  Normally, my sister chose spending time with Papa over cooking in the kitchen, but I never let an opportunity pass me by.  She would have me run out to the pantry in the garage, grab a bag of chocolate chips and any other necessary ingredients, and away we would go.  She trusted me with certain steps that many adults are weary of young children doing, like cracking eggs, or stirring the dry components into the wet.  When completed, we would place the freshly baked goods into a jar shaped like a bumpkin lamb’s head. That’s right; a bumpkin lamb’s head.

When I reached high school, I went through a three month period of craving cookie dough all the time.  I started baking two to three times a week, and would bring the rewards of my effort to school to give to my classmates.  There are very few reliable truths in this world, but one cannot deny the magnetic allure of sugary treats to perpetually starving teenagers.  

It was at this time my devotion to oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough was born.  I am a texture person, and the feel of oatmeal, chocolate and pecans swirled through soft chunks of dough is, well, making my mouth water just thinking about it.

I came up with this recipe a couple years ago.  At the time, I was surfing the Internet looking for a new cookie recipe to try, and found three that simultaneously intrigued me. I didn’t have time to make three separate cookies, and thus, combined all to make one killer treat. Granted, I no longer have voracious youngsters to wolf down my goods, but my husband does a pretty good job of polishing them off. The dough* is divine and so is the cookie.  I encourage you to eat equal amounts of both.  

Happy Eating,
Elizabeth

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
2 large eggs (preferably free range organic!)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 ½ cups rolled oats
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional, obviously, but so good!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets.  In a large bowl, beat butter and both sugars until light, fluffy and well blended. Beat in each egg, one at a time, then add vanilla.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Sift over butter mixture (if you don’t have an instrument to do this with, just add it slowly to the butter mixture, in small batches); stir to blend.  

One at a time, mix in oats, chocolate chips and pecans.  Drop dough onto sheet by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets.  Bake 14 minutes (cookies should be lightly golden around bottom edges).  Transfer to baking rack to cool.

*  Yes, I get it; some of you are worried about eating raw cookie dough because of the chance of contracting salmonella.  My mom is a nurse and is constantly nagging me of this possibility, so I thought I should at least acknowledge it: You can get salmonella from eating food with raw egg in it.  However, I have been eating raw cookie dough for the last 25 years and have yet to get sick.  I will continue to eat it until or unless it happens.  The ball’s in your court; decide for yourself!