5 cups flour (no need to sift pack it down when you

measure it)

3 cups chips42

4 cups chopped nuts43

Melt the b.u.t.ter. (Microwave it for 3 minutes on HIGH in a microwave-safe container, or melt it in a pan on the stove.) Mix the white sugar and the brown sugar into the bowl with the b.u.t.ter. Let it cool down to room temperature.

When the mixture is cool, add the vanilla extract, baking soda, and salt. Mix thoroughly.

Add the beaten eggs and stir it all up. Then add half of the flour, all of the chips, and the chopped nuts. Stir well to incorporate.

Finish by adding the rest of the flour and mixing it in thoroughly.

Drop by teaspoons onto greased (or sprayed with Pam or another nonstick baking spray) cookie sheets, 12 cookies to a standard-sized sheet. If the dough is too sticky to handle, chill it 20 to 30 minutes and then try it again.

Bake the Desperation Cookies at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until nicely browned.

Let the cookies cool for 2 minutes, then remove them from the baking sheet and transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Yield: Approximately 10 dozen delicious cookies.

DOLL FACE COOKIES.

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

(THIS IS NOT AN OMISSION THESE COOKIES HAVE NO EGGS) cup melted b.u.t.ter (1 stick, 4 ounces, pound)

1 cup brown sugar, tightly packed

cup mola.s.ses44

1 teaspoon baking soda

teaspoon salt

teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 and cups flour (no need to sift pack it down in the

cup when you measure it)

cup milk

1 cup (approximately) golden raisins, regular raisins, or currants to decorate Melt the b.u.t.ter in a large microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 50 seconds. Set the bowl aside on the counter to cool to room temperature.

When the b.u.t.ter has cooled, stir in the brown sugar and mola.s.ses. Add the baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly. Then mix in the teaspoon of lemon juice.

Add half of the flour to your bowl and mix it up. Slowly pour in the milk, a little at a time, and mix as you go. Add the rest of the flour and stir until it"s thoroughly incorporated.

Drop the dough by rounded teaspoons onto UNGREASED cookie sheets, 12 cookies to a standard-sized sheet. Put three raisins on top of each cookie. Use two for the eyes and one for the mouth.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 375 degrees F. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 2 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 4 to 5 dozen, depending on cookie size Immelda Giese, Father Coultas"s housekeeper, ordered three dozen Doll Face Cookies for Father"s altar boys. When she came in to pick up the order, one of the cookies looked just like Sister Theresa. (She thought it did, not me!) The last I heard, Immelda was trying to talk Father Coultas into displaying the cookie in a gla.s.s case at the church.

*DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PUFFS.

(CHOCOLATE WHIPPERSNAPPERS).

DO NOT preheat your oven quite yet - this cookie dough needs to chill before baking.

1 large beaten egg (just whip it up in a gla.s.s with a fork)

2 cups Cool Whip (measure this Andrea said her tub of

Cool Whip contained a little over 3 cups)

1 cup mini chocolate chips (Andrea used a 6-ounce

package of Nestles Mini Morsels)

1 package (approximately 18 ounces) chocolate cake mix,

the size you can bake in a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan

(Andrea used Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge)

cup powdered (confectioner"s) sugar in a separate small

bowl (you don"t have to sift it unless it"s got big lumps)

First of all, chill 2 teaspoons from your silverware drawer by sticking them in the freezer. You want them really ice cold. This will make it a lot easier to form the cookies after the dough is mixed.

Pour the beaten egg into a large bowl.

Stir in the Cool Whip.

Stir in the mini chocolate chips.

Sprinkle the cake mix over the top and fold it in, stirring only until everything is combined. The object here is to keep as much air in the batter as possible.

Hannah"s Note: Andrea said this dough is very sticky. It"s much easier to work with if you chill it. Just cover the bowl and stick it in the refrigerator for an hour.

When your cookie dough has chilled for an hour, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

Take your dough out of the refrigerator, your spoons out of the freezer, and scoop the dough one teaspoon at a time into the bowl of powdered sugar. Roll the dough around with your fingers to form powdered sugar-coated cookie dough b.a.l.l.s.