just fine)

1 and cups rolled oats (uncooked oatmeal I used

Quaker Quick 1-Minute rolled oats)

Melt the b.u.t.ter in a large microwave-safe bowl. (About 90 seconds on HIGH.) Add the sugars and let it cool a bit. Then add the beaten eggs, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract.

Mix in the flour and then the b.u.t.terscotch chips. Add the rolled oats and mix it in thoroughly.

Let the dough rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes to allow the b.u.t.ter to solidify.

You can either drop this dough by rounded teaspoons onto a greased cookie sheet, 12 cookies to a sheet, or roll the dough in b.a.l.l.s with your hands and place them on the cookie sheet, pushing them down just a bit so they won"t roll off on their way to the oven. (I prefer rolling the dough b.a.l.l.s the cookies turn out nice and round.) Bake at 350 degrees F. for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes and then remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

These cookies freeze really well if you roll them in foil and put them in a freezer bag.

Yield: This recipe makes approximately 8 to 9 dozen cookies, depending on cookie size.

Hannah"s Note: Mother"s friend Carrie just loves these when I use one cup of b.u.t.terscotch chips and one cup of milk chocolate chips.

CANDY CANE COOKIES.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

THE TOPPING:.

cup hard peppermint candy, crushed34

cup white (granulated) sugar

THE COOKIE DOUGH:.

1 cup softened b.u.t.ter (2 sticks, 8 ounces, pound)

1 cup powdered (confectioner"s) sugar

1 beaten egg (just mix it up in a cup with a fork)

teaspoon salt

1 and teaspoons almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 and cups flour (pack it down in the cup when you mea-

sure it)

teaspoon red food coloring

Hannah"s 1st Note: Lisa and I prefer to use the big round peppermint candies that practically melt in your mouth because they"re a lot easier to crush.

To make the topping, place the peppermint candies in a st.u.r.dy plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin or a mallet. You"ll need cup to top your cookies.

In a small bowl, mix the half-cup crushed peppermint candies with the half-cup white sugar. Set the bowl aside for now.

To make the dough, you"ll need two bowls, a small and a medium-sized.

In the medium-sized bowl, combine the softened b.u.t.ter, powdered sugar, beaten egg, salt, and extracts. Stir until they"re well combined. Then add the flour in half-cup increments, stirring after each addition.

Round up the dough and divide it in half. Put one half in the small bowl and cover it with plastic wrap so it won"t dry out. This will be the white part of your Candy Cane Cookies.

Blend the red food coloring into the other half (the dough in the medium-sized bowl.) Mix it until it"s a uniform color. This will be the red part of your Candy Cane Cookies.

Lightly flour a breadboard or rectangular cutting board and place it on your counter. You"ll use this surface to roll the dough.

Remove a teaspoon of white dough from the small bowl and roll it into a four-inch long roll by pushing it back and forth with the palms of your impeccably clean hands.

Remove a teaspoon of red dough from the bowl and form a similar four-inch long roll.

Place the two rolls side by side on the board, hold them together, and twist them like a rope so that the resulting cookie resembles a candy cane. Pinch the ends together slightly so they won"t separate.

Place the cookie on an UNGREASED standard-size cookie sheet and bend down the top to make a crook. You should be able to get four Candy Cane Cookies in a row and three rows to a cookie sheet.

Hannah"s 2nd Note: The first time we made these, we rolled out a dozen white parts first and then we rolled out a dozen red parts. Our dough got too dry sitting on the board and the red and white twists we formed came apart. Now we shape these cookies one at a time and keep the dough bowls covered with plastic wrap when we"re not rolling. I"d really recommend forming these cookies one at a time.

Once you"ve completed twelve cookies, cover your bowls of dough with plastic wrap. You don"t want them to dry out between batches.

Before you put your first pan of cookies in the oven to bake, spread out a length of foil and place a wire rack on top of it. This will hold your hot cookies when you decorate them with the peppermint candy and sugar topping. Once the cookies are completely cool, they can be transferred to a foil-lined box or a platter and you can round up any topping that"s fallen through the rack to use again.

Bake your cookies at 375 degrees F. for 9 minutes. (They should be just beginning to turn golden when you remove them from the oven.) Immediately remove the cookies from the baking sheet and place them on the wire rack. Sprinkle them with the mixture of candy and sugar while they are still very hot.

Continue to roll, shape, bake, and top your cookies until you run out of dough.

Yield: Approximately 4 dozen cookies, depending on cookie size.

CAPPUCCINO ROYALES.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

2 cups melted b.u.t.ter (4 sticks, 16 ounces, 1 pound)

cup instant coffee powder (I used Folger"s)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons brandy or rum extract35

3 cups white (granulated) sugar36

3 beaten eggs (just whip them up in a gla.s.s with a fork)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 cups milk chocolate chips