I have been hungry for cookies lately. Today I broke down and made some. They were from an old cookbook I found somewhere or other. What a disappointment. I have many tried and true recipes that turn out fine every time. Why, oh why, do I continue looking for new ones. Anne reminds me of that fact every time I have a cooking disaster.

Reading through the recipe, I should have known. The proportions of liquid, flour and butter were all wrong. I was led astray by the title. “Delicious” is a misleading word. Not everything is delicious that says it is. It seems I will never learn. Again, ask my daughter Anne.

The recipe called for 1/2 cup of butter. The 1 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar seemed about right. I should have surmised that 1 cup evaporated milk and 2 eggs was too much liquid for only 2 3/4 cups flour. Yes, that title threw me for a loop.

I made a test cookie on a pie plate. The recipe said to bake until browned, no time given. To figure that out, I started by setting the oven for 6 minutes. I could increase the heat a minute at a time. The oven temperature didn't seem hot enough, either. I was right. That pitiful cookie spread out all over that pie plate, flat as a pancake. 300 F. was too low. I turned the heat up to 350 F., adding another half cup of flour to the batter and two more minutes to the timing. Those cookies didn't spread as much, but the flavor was blah!

I divided up the batter and added lemon extract to one half and cinnamon and nutmeg to the other half to try to salvage the cookies. That helped a little. By then, I was over it. I asked the cats outside our door if they wanted a cookie. Anne said,”No you don't. That will give them diabetes from the sugar.” Ok, I will throw out these “delicious” cookies after dark. The raccoons and possums can fight over them. The cats will be out roaming in the dark, checking out the neighborhood.

Here is a cookie that turns out well every time. The title doesn't say “Delicious.” It's just a good chocolaty cookie. This is my grandson Larry's favorite.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES
18 ounce pkg devil's food cake mix
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
12 ounce pkg chocolate chips.

In mixing bowl, combine cake mix, eggs and oil. Beat until well combined. Batter will be very stiff. Stir in chocolate chips. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on well greased baking sheets. Flatten slightly with fork. Bake at 350 F. for 10 minutes, or until a slight indentation remains when lightly touched. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to newspaper covered table to completely cool. Makes 4 dozen.