Cookie Monster

During my break on Wednesday, I was eating lunch with a few other pharmacists, and we started talking about food. Now, for those of you that know me, you know I'm not much of a foodie. So when Linda asked me if I liked to cook, I said, "Well, yes, but I'm not that good... *But,* I loooove to bake!"

I have wonderful memories of spending time with my mom (and sometimes with my grandmothers) baking treats. Cookies, cakes, breads- you name it, I love to make (and eat) it. After talking about baking on Wednesday, I realized that I hadn't made anything in quite some time, and I decided I was due to make a batch of cookies. Flipping through my mental cookbook, the perfect recipe hit me- my mom's zuccini raisin cookies. Now I know these sound a little weird, but they are absolutely fabulous!

When I got home after work and running some errands, I looked into my refrigerator to make sure I had all of the ingredients. Unfortunatley, my zuccini that I had bought earlier this week didn't look so hot. I needed to go to the store to pick up some more, but I also wanted to make sure I had time to work out. So, what do you think I did? Just what anyone else would do-- I ran to the grocery store (and walked back) to buy a vegetable to make cookies. Seems a little counterintuitive, but it made sense at the time.

Here's the recipe....

Zuccini Raisin Cookies

-3/4 cup shortening
-1 1/2 cups white sugar
-1 egg
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 1/2 cups grated zuccini
-2 1/2 cups flour
-2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 cup raisins
-small amount powdered sugar

Cream the shortening and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix in the zuccini. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add to zuccini mixture. Stir in raisins. Bake at 350 degrees on a greased cookie sheet for 15 minutes. Allow to cool, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

I recommend that you use a finer grater for the zuccini- it helps to give the cookies a better texture.

Speaking of baking, here are some pictures of my first days in the kitchen....

Cutting out sugar cookies. Would you believe that I still own (and still wear) the shirt I have on in this picture?

I just adored my play kitchen and my fake foods. I never had an Easy-Bake oven, but I didn't need one.

I think that hat is bigger than my head. My second favorite part of this picture is the bowl- my parents recieved it as a wedding present and still have it today.

Another one of my favorite baked good as a kid was lemon cake with lemon frosting. My Mom used to make it for Ryan's birthday every year. At some point, I decided that I liked the cake, too, so now I've had it for my last several birthdays. No secret recipe here--you'll have to call Duncan Hines for that one.