Booze and Cookies--2006 (Part 1)

Last Sunday was Booze and Cookies 2006 and as you can see by the enormous hunk of cubed Crisco (might be cream cheese) John is holding in this picture, there were no restrictions placed on the use of hydrogenated fats (seems to be a theme with our get togethers). I went a little crazy with pictures, and I’m kind of low on post topics so I’ll be posting this in two parts.

Claire, sporting her holiday sweater with polar bear appliqué on the back, which I guess is sort of the front when it comes to dogwear since she couldn’t care less about the design on her sweater, met everyone at the door. I was so focused on not yelling at her in public that I really didn’t keep track of how well her “no jumping on people” lessons were paying off. She seems calm in this picture, but I think I caught her between leaps.

Booze and Cookies usually manages to draw a guest or two from foreign, non-Hoosier places. I call this the “‘furin’ factor.” Normally, the “furiners” drive from Arkansas or Ohio; my friend Adam from China came one year. This year we got us an Alaskan! Joe, Marc and Karen’s friend, was visiting his family in Indiana so he came with them. He’s the one in the middle of the picture above holding the container of Chocolate Cherry Cookie dough, which was his favorite cookie growing up, along with Hershey Kisses (for the tops) and required baking stone(!). And he brought index cards so people could write the recipe down!! Somebody’s momma raised him right. Oh, Marc brought a bag of ice. Actually that is what I asked him to bring. He said it was an old family recipe. Joe is a fishing guide in Alaska. Since that's what I did during the summers when I was in college we had a lot to talk about*.

Dave, shrouded in his new 13.5 foot(!) scarf Sally just made him, helps Karen and Joe put the finishing touches on the CCCs. The scarf is breathtaking by the way. Not too many accessories can take you from “Autumn in Aspen” to “Yiddish Grandmother” with just a few simple flips of the wrist.


I don’t mean to obsess over these cookies, but I was crazy about them. Timing was very important—you had to eat them when they were set, but while the chocolate on top was still warm and soft. I tried really hard to capture the glint of melted chocolate with my camera.

Some of you may wonder why Master Baker, Linda, aka John's mom, isn't in the pictures? She's in the middle of a big house remodel and thought it was better that she concentrate on that this year. The group in this picture sat down to talk about how dissappointed they were that she didn't come. Actually they're watching the Colts game, the sugar shocked mind's rest activity of choice. But Linda, if you're reading this, you were missed. Everyone was sad that you and Jim weren't there.


(Coming soon: Part II—The Return of Team Kifle)

*Just kidding--I worked at Dillard's Department Store all through college.