Guest Post with Rachel G -- Cookies

Hey y'all!
I'm out and about today, probably moving in some fashion,
and have left my blog in some capable hands of the awesome ladies
who signed up to help a sista out.
So do enjoy your break from regularly scheduled programming!

-------------------------------------------------------

Hi! I'm Rachel and I blog at The Random Writings of Rachel. There's no guarantees on what I will or won't be writing about, because I have strange and sundry interests and they change from time to time. I'm a brand-new college grad and I've been married to the Angel pictured below for quite a few months.

Usually we look a little happier.

Nearly four years ago, I entered my college for the first time with the express plan of baking cookies for any and all events that required students to pitch in on bringing food. At the time, I did hope that I would meet my husband in college, and my idea was that baking homemade cookies would subtly place the idea in guys’ minds that I would make a good wife. It all sounds kind of nefarious when I write it down so bluntly, but I promise, this was the only man-catching “strategy” I used, and for the most part, at college I was just studying, getting As in all my classes, hanging out with my friends, and being very clueless about guys {Fact: Angel called me everyday for two months and booked a plane flight to come visit me during my sophomore year, at which point I asked, “Umm, I’m just wondering, are you interested in me at all?”}.

But I did bake cookies frequently. And the first time Angel and I were at a potluck together, he ate six of the molasses cookies I brought, and as you can tell, he was hooked for life.I still bake cookies, except during crazy heat waves like the one we've been having this summer, because I love both eating cookies and giving them away.

Both Angel’s and my favorite cookie recipe I got from my Mom. It’s probably a classic, and I’m sure there are other versions of it out there, but here’s mine:

Andes Mint Surprise Cookies

3 c. Flour

1 t. Baking Soda

½ t. Salt

1 c. Butter

2 Eggs

1 c. Sugar

2 T. Water

1 T. Vanilla

½ c. brown sugar

2 pkg. of Andes mints

Sift flour, soda, and salt together. Cream butter, sugar, eggs, water, and vanilla together in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients, mix well. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. With flowered hands take about one T of dough, flatten, wrap around an unwrapped Andes mint, and seal well. None of the chocolate should be showing! Place on greased cooking sheet about two inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 min, until lightly browned.

This makes quite a few cookies, but I'm not going to lie to you and say 2 or 3 dozen or whatever those recipes always claim, because I have no idea exactly how many cookies it makes in real life. Plus, it's my theory that all recipes lie maliciously about their cookie output. Either that or I make darn big cookies.

 Serving suggestion: Homemade cookies paired with popcorn and smoothies made a perfectly balanced meal for newlyweds--try it! The cookies pictured are a slightly different version of the recipe above: instead of a mint hidden inside, Andes mint chips are mixed into the cookie dough.