Betty's Best Cookies

Fashions in cookies are like fashions in women's dress; they have changed and been passed down through the years. Some of America's favorite cookies today are those that were pace-setters decades ago. Perhaps one needs to pull out Grandma's cookie recipes or an antique cookbook to fill the home with an aroma that is as inviting as COOKIES.

There is no aroma like that of baking cookies, whether they are ginger or chocolate or caramel. No snack is quite so satisfying as a couple of warm cookies with a glass of milk. No gift is quite so welcoming as a lovely wrapped package brimming with homemade cookies.

Cookie makers of the past had a motto that stated, "Happy the home with the full cooky jar". Notice how the word cookie is spelled. Then remember how enjoyable a full cookie jar is.

Special thanks to the Betty Crocker cookie archives and my personal collection of antique cookbooks for helping me collaborate the following award winning recipes that are just as popular today as when they were first introduced.

*Oatmeal Drop Cookies.

Voted the "Best Cooky of 1900-1910". This was the time the Wright brothers had their successful flight at Kitty Hawk and the first Mother's Day was observed.

1/2c shortening

1 tsp. soda

1 ¼ c sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 c molasses

2 c rolled oats

1 ¾ c flour

½ c chopped nuts

1 c raisins

Heat oven to 400'. Mix shortening, sugar, eggs, and molasses thoroughly. Stir dry ingredients together; blend in. Stir in oats, nuts, and raisins. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2" apart on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 min or until lightly browned. Makes 6 doz.

*Brownies

Voted the "Best Cooky of 1920-1930". Emily Post's famous etiquette book was published and ladies swooned at theaters featuring Rudolf Valentino. Legend has it that the first brownies were a fallen chocolate cake. However they were created, brownies became the first choice for picnic baskets, lunches and gift boxes. Today, most people simply pick up a boxed brownie mix from the store.

½ c shortening

½ c cocoa

1 c sugar

½ tsp baking powder

2 eggs

½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

½ c chopped walnuts

2/3 c flour

Heat oven to 350'. Mix shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well blended. Blend dry ingredients; mix in. Stir in nuts. Spread in well-greased pan, 8x8x2. Bake about 30 min. cool; cut in 2" squares. Makes 16 brownies.

*Chocolate Chip Cookies

Voted the "Best Cooky of 1935-1940". Fans flocked to theaters to watch "Gone with the Wind". This luscious cookie from the New England Toll House in Whitman, Massachusetts enjoyed immediate popularity. It was introduced to homemakers in a 1939 radio series "Famous Foods from Famous Places".

2/3 c shortening (part butter or margarine)

1 ½ c flour

½ c granulated sugar

½ tsp soda

½ c packed brown sugar

½ tsp salt

1 egg

½ c chopped nuts

1tsp vanilla

1 pkg (6oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375'. Mix shortening, sugars, egg, and vanilla thoroughly. Stir dry ingredients together. (For a softer, rounded cookie, add ¼ c more flour.) Blend in. Mix in nuts and chocolate chips. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of dough about 2: apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 min or until delicately browned. (Cookies should still be soft.) Cool slightly before removing from sheet. Makes 4-5 doz.