Headwaters of the Yellowstone Bed & Breakfast

Pumpkin Bars for a Crowd

It is the holiday season and the potlucks, ballet recitals and parties have begun!  I've been fiddling with this recipe for years and I think I've finally found a version that fulfills my expectations. (When it comes to baked goods, I always have some!)   These are wonderful pumpkin bars.  Moist but not greasy, they are full of pumpkin flavor.  Not too sweet, one could argue that they might even be a little bit good for you.  

NOTE:  This recipe makes a full sheet pan of bars PLUS a 9 inch square to leave at home for the family. I use commercial half sheet pans which may be a little a larger than what you have at home.  It would also make 2-13x9 pans full of cake or a bijillion cupcakes. Frosted with a cream cheese icing, they can be decorated with pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds for a little salty addition.  

I bake mine in a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.  When they are cool, I can lift the entire pan of bars out of the sheet pan and frost, cut and decorate them.  For potlucks, it's great to just be able to lift the frosted bars back into the sheet pan for transport.

 

Pumpkin Bars for a Crowd

8 eggs, lightly beaten

3 cups of granulated sugar

1 large (29 oz.) can pumpkin puree

1 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

4 cups AP flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Preheat the overn to 350 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients.  In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, oil, applesauce and pumpkin until thoroughly combined.  Stir in the dry ingredients to make a thick batter.  Spread into the prepared pans (fill 2/3 full - batter will expand) and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake springs back when you press it lightly with your finger.  Let cool completely, then frost.

 

Cream Cheese Icing

2 packages of cream cheese (8oz each)

2 sticks of butter

4 cups of powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

Mix everything together with a whisk attachment until light and fluffy.  This frosting keeps well in the refrigerator or the freezer; just rewhip before using.  

 

The Riverview Cabin Story

 

If you ask me to tell you about the Riverview Cabin's history, I'm afraid there would be holes in my story. During much of it's construction I think you'd find me hiding somewhere (avoiding work) reading comic books or National Geographic back issues (many of which still grace the shelves of the cabin).  If you did catch me hiding, I would be sure to complain about "the land" and give you a number of good reasons why my parents were torturing me on a weekend by making me sit around while they worked on it's construction.  If you think it brings satisfaction to my parents to know that it's my idea of paradise now, you'd be absolutely right.  

The land that the Riverview Cabin sits on was purchased by my parents in 1969.  At that time I was 7 years old; my siblings were 5 and 3.  My father was the resident minister in Yellowstone National Park and we lived in Mammoth Hot Springs, 8 miles to the south.  Since my memories get a little fuzzy here (see above), I've asked my dad to tell the early story of the cabin's construction.

 
 Merv Olson:  We purchased the land in 1969 from Tony and Agnes Stermitz.  It was Tony’s winter horse pasture and was virgin land covered with large sagebrush – some were nearly 10 feet tall!  The first project was to eliminate the sagebrush by pulling it out with a pickup and a chain and burning it.  The kids would ride in the back of the pickup until the sagebrush took over all the room.  We left one large sagebrush on the hillside behind the Riverview Cabin to remind us of those days. 

 We decided that a well was needed so we worked on a joint well with Ted and Holly Scott, our neighbors then and now, located on the property line.  We dug that well by hand and cribbed it with some lodgepole logs and sheets of plywood as we got deeper.  It was below the top of the water table so we had a pulley with a five-gallon bucket to lift the muck out.  We had a cave-in that scared us so we gave up on hole #1 and decided to each have our own well.  Our well was dug with a backhoe and then dug to 28 feet by hand.  [It is now used for irrigating our landscape and garden and for water for the bathhouse.]  This well served us until 1999 when Van Dyken drilled out current well to about 70 feet which now serves all the other buildings on the property.

After the well we put in a septic system with my brother, Dale’s help.  He lived with us during the summer during his teen years.  First we rented a trailer spot.  After we saved a little income from that we started building a cbain in the summer of 1972 for our vacation cabin.  Warren Wagner, a local contractor, dug into the hillside for the foundation.  I dug a trench, mixed the concrete and poured the footings.  Mr. Lundgren from Livingston was hired to build the foundation walls with concrete block and I mixed the concrete mortar.  We were a great team.

      
 
The subfloor was laid and the trusses were assembled on the subfloor and then laid on the hillside while we framed the walls.  Fred Bent and Leon Shaul, family friends, helped raise the trusses.  The first day we tried to do this we put one truss up but realized that the wind was too dangerous so we completed the job another day.  There was no deck in front so it was a long way down to the ground from the roof peak!

The cabin was enclosed just before we left Yellowstone and moved to Malta, Montana.  [Where my dad accepted a pastoral call to a Lutheran church.]  The joke was that every intern had to work on the cabin the day after Easter before the annual pastoral conference at Chico Hot Springs.  The rafters were salvaged from the flat roof of the Gardiner Community Church when an addition was made to the church annex in 1974. 

The deck was added in the summer of 1978.  The 2x12s came from the railroad tressel tht was dismantled just north of the Gardiner school.  We hauled them in the back of the pickup and nearly blew the tires they were so heavy! 

We enjoyed using the cabin for vacations but when the gold mine in Jardine opened there was a demand for housing and Charissa was entering college, so we rented the cabin from then to about 2000.

Some remodeling projects included new windows in the 80s and a new bathroom in 2002.  The cost of the windows was bout 2/3 of the cost of the building of the original cabin.  A new room was installed (metal) after the fires of 1988 by Tim and Charissa’s brother David.  David frightened us all by falling from the room during that project but, thankfully, he was not seriously hurt.  Tim and Charissa have made many changes as well since they moved here in 2009.       

My parents, Merv and Joyce, shared this cabin with many, many people before it became a part of their business.  It hosted youth groups, hunters, friends of friends of friends, and our family on holiday.  Many hands have worked on it's walls; Tim and mine among them.  It's on going project.  

This year we celebrate its 38th year of keeping people warm and dry while they gaze at the amazing Yellowstone National Park view.  All thanks to the foresight and imagination of my parents.  (No thanks to me....but ask me anything about those National Geographics!)  We consider ourselves very lucky to be a part of that legacy. 

Our Montana Summer Reboot

The mark of a successful man is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it.  ~Author Unknown

Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.  ~Will Rogers, Autobiography, 1949

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.  ~Ovid

It’s been over a year since I posted on my blog. The weight of having to write something fantastic keeps me away from another run at consistency.  I got nothing – so I’m jumping right in! 

Last year we ended another successful season on the brink of exhaustion.  Maybe it exposed some weakness in my character or spoke to the workload of a growing family and a business – either way, we were worn out! 

After lots of talks about family and balance and lots of long looks at our growing daughters, we decided to take the summer off.  We needed to see Yellowstone ourselves this year.  Get up early and go wolf watching.  Soak in the Firehole River.  Go to the Livingston Farmer’s Market and the new Harry Potter movie. Sit on the edge of Antelope Creek and watch grizzly grazing.  Sleep in. Breathe. 

So, we’ve spent the summer enjoying our visiting friends and the Olson Family Reunion (so fun!).  We built a bathhouse near the garden (with amazing outdoor showers!) and Tim built a beautiful shade shelter on the beach.  We crossed all sorts of small things off our to-do list and added a few for good measure.  I baked like crazy and tried out a number of new breakfast recipes.  We breathed a big sigh of relief when my dad finished his cancer treatments and we cheered on my mom’s golf game.  Our kids traveled far and wide (Utah, Texas and Illinois) and ended their summer by leaving Tim and I alone for a week.  We became acutely aware of how quiet it was going to be around here soon.  Tim caught a few fish and Olivia took a great course with Yellowstone Country Guardians that gave her a great fly fishing introduction. We enjoyed our cabin guests and the camaraderie of the Flying Pig overnight guides (thanks Brogan, Tyler, Michael and Paul).  We watched the Yellowstone rise and fall and counted drift boats when they started to appear in August.  We played Scrabble and Kick the Can.  We took in all the Montana summer had to offer.  It was sweet and all too short.     

So, the summer Is over.  And with trees full of apples and the cool morning signaling that winter is just around the corner, we are starting to think about bears and snow boots.  It’s time to get back to work. 

We will be making a few small changes here but our business’s mission remains the same.  We want to provide everybody who stays here with the opportunity to relax and enjoy this special place.  When my parents wisely purchased this property over 40 years ago, they instilled in me a respect for its location.  Being on the banks of the beautiful (sparkling, green, fish filled, un-dammed, rushing) Yellowstone River and on the boundary of Yellowstone National Park is a privilege AND a responsibility.  We want to continue to make good decisions that preserve what’s good about being here. 

And, we want to find away to enjoy it ourselves.    

So, here’s to what’s ahead.  And to even better cookies.  

 

Persistent Childhood Memory Cookies

I'm very proud of these cookies.  They are really the first cookies that I have ever created from scratch...although I must admit that I can't take full credit for the inspiration.  

Growing up in Yellowstone National Park meant that the best food we got came directly from our mother's ovens.  No bakery.  No Dunkin Donuts.  Just Mom's home cooking.  

My mom used to make these crispy little cookies that had butterscotch chips in them and, to give them extra crisp, Rice Krispies.  I distinctly remember eating them...but my mother has no memory of ever making them.  And certainly no recipe.   

So, I made them up myself.  They are a great salty sweet oatmeal cookie with an extra crisp crunch, toasted pecans and coconut and not too much butterscotch chip.  The Rice Krispie addition is a little weird - but it's crucial to the texture of the cookie and most people won't be able to guess what the secret is to all that crunch.  This is a cookie with some balance to it...don't overdue the butterscotch chips or it'll just be way too sweet.  I'm pretty sure that its as close as I'll come to a childhood memory cookie.  Thanks Mom.  

Crispy Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 cup pecan pieces (chopped fine)

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 whole eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon freshly grated orange peel

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups AP flour

3 cups of QUICK oats (must be quick - not old-fashioned)

1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies cereal

1/2 to 3/4 cup butterscotch chips (go lightly here)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place finely chopped pecans and coconut on a baking sheet and toast until golden brown.  (Don't forget about this - they burn easily!)  When toasted, set aside to cool completely.  Meanwhile, cream the butter, shortening and sugars until light in color - about 3 minutes.  Add eggs, vanilla, and orange peel and mix until well-combined.  

In another bowl, whisk together the salt, cinnamon, flour and baking powder.  Add all at once to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.  Add the quick oats and mix some more.  Lastly, add the cooled coconut/pecan mixture, the butterscotch chips and the Rice Krispies.  Mix just until combined - don't overdue the last mixing...I sometimes do this last part by hand.  

Drop onto a greased cookie sheet by the tablespoon and bake for 12-15 minutes until light golden brown. These cookies get crispier as they cool and are great with a cup of tea.   You can freeze the dough in a log and slice it very thinly to bake frozen.  

            My newest thrift store finds...

Liisa's Fruit Tart

This past year, we had the great privilege of hosting a AFS foreign exchange student in our home. When Liisa first arrived we had no idea what to expect and, I'm sure, neither did she.  Transitioning from a small town in Finland to a really, really small town in Montana wasn't easy.  There were many things to learn.  Liisa proved herself to be extremely adept and finding her way here.  She braved horseback riding and AP History and succeeded at both.  She ate her first sweet potato and saw her first rodeo.  She discovered Pop Rocks.  She learned what it was like to have three younger sisters. She dressed up for the prom and Halloween and, along the way, became very much a part of our family.  

Last week we sent Liisa home.  It wasn't easy!  By now she is swimming in cold Finnish waters, eating rye bread sandwiches and renewing friendships.  She's come home old enough to drink beer and learn to drive. We hope she brought home as many lovely memories as she left behind.  She will always be welcome here.  We love and miss her!      

This tart was Liisa's favorite.  We made a big one together just before she left; I mixed the ingredients and she put them all together.  It came out beautifully.  I promised then that I would post the recipe so she could make it at home.  So, dear Liisa, this one is for you.  

This is a great recipe - flexible, easy to make ahead, and very adaptable.  You can make it with just about any fruit that's in season and vary the flavorings accordingly.  In winter, it's wonderful with plums or apples that have been tossed in a little sugar and cinnamon. This time of year it's all about raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and huckleberries.  

The crust is a press-in crust (which means you don't have to roll out the dough) and it can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen before baking.  The filling can be made in advance (I make a double batch and store the rest for the next time around) as well so it's a perfect thing for breakfast.  Pop the crust in the oven, fill the hot shell when brown and top with the best the fruit basket has to offer.  Enjoy.  

Liisa's Fruit Tart

For the crust: 

Cream 1/2 cup butter with 1/4 cup sugar.  Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 cup of all-purpose flour.  Mix until combined and press into the bottom of a greased 8 inch tart pan with a removable bottom.  Watch for thick/thin spots!  Bake at 400 for 15 minutes until golden brown. 

Meanwhile, mix together:

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese (softened), 1/4 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla and the zest of one lemon (or lime or orange - your choice).  While you are waiting for the crust to finish, prepare the fruit - slice the apples/apricots/plums or wash the berries.  

Remove from the oven and: 

Top the hot crust with the filling and carefully arrange the fruit in the filling.  I like to fill the tart with raspberries in circles places very close together; as the filling puffs they make a beautiful design.  

Bake about 35-40 minutes until the filling is lightly brown.  Cool and serve - preferably with a little dollop of freshly whipped cream.    

Cinnamon Sauce - An Apple Pie Revelation!

My younger brother has tolerated a lot from me over the years.  I fondly remember the days when my sister and I would corner him and try and kiss him in order to get him to hit us...and get in trouble for hitting.  I've not stopped giving him a hard time since.  That being said, he has GREAT taste in women.  His wife, Elaine, is such an inspiring person - dedicated to family and community and someone who I consider to be a very good example of what a servant of others should be.  She works in the Seattle area with a non-profit that provides both immediate help for people in need and follow up to make sure that their needs and dignity are preserved called Plateau Outreach Ministries.  On top of her good works, she is also a great aunt, an air traffic controller, an equestrian, a prolific reader and a lot of fun in general.  She's amazing and I love her.  (Good job, Bro!)

Elaine shared this recipe with me, telling me that I'll never order apple pie in a restaurant again because it would be missing this sauce.  Elaine and her sister learned to make it from their mother.  Elaine thought it originated with her grandmother...but her mom recently told her it was a Sunset magazine find from the 1960s.  Where ever it came from - it's a revelation!  I am NOT a huge fan of apple pie but it is my husband's favorite so we have it often.  This sauce elevated apple pie in my eyes!  It is completely worth the effort.  I'm already thinking of new things to pour it over.  And, it's true, I will never eat apple pie without it again. 

Cinnamon Sauce

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup sherry
  
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
  

Combine cornstarch with a few tablespoons of water and set aside.  Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Stir in cornstarch mixture and boil until thick and clear - it will resemble a fragrant caramel sauce. 

Spoon over ice cream on top of apple pie and ENJOY! 

Butterhorn Pastries - One of our most requested recipes!

These little pastries are deceiving.  So simple...and so perfect.  Whenever I make these as an evening guest treat or use the dough for morning pastry, I always get a request for the recipe.  The recipe itself is so simple that its easy to be fooled into thinking that these might be TOO plain, but don't be tempted to embellish.  They are sweet and buttery; flaky and delicious.  The dough MUST be made in advance but beyond that, they are easy to make.  Don't worry about them being perfect - the imperfections make for more crunchy edges. 

This recipe came to me through one of my soul sisters - Jean Bean!  Jean and I first lived together on the West side of Rocky Mountain National Park where we both worked for the National Park Service at the west entrance.  Yes, it's true...I began my "illustrious" park service career as one of those cheerful "box bunnies" - taking cash for entry, answering questions about the park, passing out maps and park newspapers and rockin' those hot ranger uniforms.  

Our first home was a trailer.  A trailer with a squeaky floor, cardboard walls, ranch oak furniture and a shady forest location.  Very typical seasonal quarters.  Definitely not glamorous, but cheap and serviceable if your priorities included being outside and having as much fun as your twenties allowed. We later got an "upgrade" when we worked as dispatchers on the East side of RMNP in Estes Park, CO and lived, along with our dear friends Margie and Linda, in the Johnson House - a large inholding with a beautiful mountain view, a deck to die for, lots of space for chili cook-offs and big dinners with friends...and the same cardboard sheetrock and lots of mice.  

Jean is much more than a friend of mine.  We've laughed hysterically together and cried over boys and bosses.  We avoided a nearly certain car crash while listening to Greg Brown and have remained friends through marriage, children, career choices and beyond.  We had a reunion of the Johnson House girls a number of years ago and it was amazing to see how we picked up right where we left off - and how beautifully our little herd of children fit together! 

Jean has given me counsel, love, great stories about her grandmother, nephews and large Italian extended family, loans of cash and clothes, encouragement...and the recipe for these butterhorns.  Thanks Bean - your friendship is a treasure!  I love you. 

 

 Jean Bean's Butterhorns

• 2 cups butter (1 pound box) - softened
• 24 ounces large curd cottage cheese - softened
• 4 cups flour

Blend cottage cheese and butter.  Add flour and mix just until combined.  Place in a large zip lock bag, flatten, and chill overnight in the refrigerator.  (There really is not substitute for the time in the refrigerator.) 

Roll out on (thin as you can) a lightly floured board, cut into small triangles and roll into crescents.  Bake at 375 for 25 minutes and cool completely.  Frost with powdered sugar frosting - I use 1 cup powdered sugar, a tablespoon of milk and a tablespoon of vanilla - you can also use lemon juice if that suits you in place of the vanilla.  We have also rolled these in granulated sugar while hot - not as good, in my opinion, as the glaze, but certainly less messy and a little more kid-friendly.   

I have also used this pastry to make larger "danish" pastries.  Formed as a turnover and fill with your favorite fruit and a little sugar these work great - just chill the pastries thoroughly BEFORE baking for best result.

Bars for the Golden Boys

In both my immediate and extended maternal family, there are men who have always held a special place in the hearts of the women.  David, my younger brother, Todd, the middle man, and Kevin, the youngest cousin in the troop of 10.  While our very female-dominated Kompelien clan includes brave male souls who married into the group and who are very well loved, these three boys managed to accomplish quite a bit during their younger years by just being charming.   

David, Todd, and Kevin - our golden boys and we love them and tolerate them completely...and the devotion shown to them by our mother's generation is, even after years of adulthood, totally annoying.  

Several years ago, one of my young daughters was introduced to Kevin and she immediately dubbed him "Princess Boy".  You can call him that too if you'd like.   

Now that we are all grown up, the golden boy phenomenon manifests itself in the cookie jar.  When my brother makes the long trip from Seattle, we are not at all surprised to see his favorite toffee bars carefully stacked in popcorn tins in my mother's freezer.  The bars are a buttery shortbread with a thin layer of Hershey's chocolate and a sprinkling of walnuts of pecans.  They are great at room temperature or, if you are not a golden boy and need to sneak one out of the freezer, they taste great cold as well.  My mom is always generous with me in every way - except in the cookie department.  That treatment is reserved for David.  Not that I'm jealous or anything.  Mostly. 

The second recipe is a favorite of Princess Boy.  The top layer is a crunchy chocolate/peanut butter cream.  I add 1/2 cup chopped peanuts to the top of this layer when I make them for guests - avoids hiding the peanuts from anyone allergic and gives extra crunch to the layer.  The middle layer is marshmallow and the bottom is a simple chocolate cake. 

My grandmother would make these bars during our summer visit to my grandparents house.  They lived on a high hill above the beautiful Bull Shoals Reservoir in northern Arkansas.  The lush vegetation, chiggers, copperheads, summer heat and humidity made it feel like an exotic jungle to a mountain child like me.  After marching us out onto the deck to raise the American flag and say the pledge of allegiance, we were treated to bran muffins, mini golf, fishing, the devotion of our doting Grandpa, summer sausage sandwiches, water skiing, hilarious laughter and when we returned, grandma's bars and a game of hearts.  This summer we are planning to be together in Montana - how lucky I feel to have all those great memories to draw on and such great cousins as friends! 

My grandmother was always health conscious (long before it was in fashion) and I'm sure that I'm not the only grandchild who knew where she hid the goodies during the forbidden parts of the day.  Just before dinner, for instance.  Tiptoeing down the carpeted stairs into the cool basement and tactically deciding how many she'd miss out of her coveted stash is something I'm now willing to admit - just don't tell Grandma.

David's Toffee Bars

*I double this recipe and use a half sheet pan to make these and freeze half the batch for later.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 10x13 cookie sheet.  Cream:

•  1 c. butter (2 sticks)
• 1 c. brown sugar

Then add:

• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Stir together:

• 2 c. flour 1
• 1/4 tsp. salt  

Add to the egg and butter mixutre and mix thoroughly.  Press into the prepared pan in an even layer.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until lightly brown.  While still hot, "frost " with a giant Hershey bar broken into pieces - lay the chocolate pieces on the hot bars and then spread when melted with an offset spatula.  Sprinkle chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts) on top.  Cut while warm.

Princess Boy Chocolate Bars

*I like to use a 9 inch sqaure with straight sides for this recipe and cut them very small.  You can also use a 13x9 pan for thinner layers.  VERY RICH, these should be cut into small pieces either way.

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. real vanilla
• 3/4 cup flour
• 2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Cream together butter and sugar until pale and light.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla.  Stir together the dry ingredients and add all at once until combined.  Spread into the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until the egdes start pulling away from the pan or until a toothpick comes out of the middle clean.

Remove from the oven and top with:

• 1 1/2 cups mini marshallows

Return to the oven and bake until the marshmallows are puffy and cover the cake layer but are not brown.  Let cool completely.

In a glass measuring cup, combine:

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Melt in the microwave in 30 second incriments and stir until smooth.  Stir in:

• 2 cups Rice Krispies

Spread this mixture on top of the cooled bars and (optional) sprinkle with 1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts.  Chill unti firm, cut into small squares and serve.

P.S.  I love you David, Todd and Kevin. 

Grandpa's Salted Peanut Crisps

I remember these cookies as being my Grandfather Owen's favorite.  Pale and sweet with salty peanuts inside and just a touch of sugar on top, I distinctly remember sitting next to Grandpa at the end of their long table while he topped his lunch off with a cup of coffee and one of these sweet/salty cookies.

Betty Crocker noted these cookies as "The Best Cooky of 1950-1955" in the Betty Crocker Cookie Book.  Never one to leave well enough alone, I doubled the vanilla, substituted dark brown sugar for the brown sugar, and used toffee peanuts instead of salted party peanuts.  While I'm not sure Grandpa would have approved, I prefer the taste and texture.  If you want to push the sweet salty thing a little further, you can mix a little sea salt into the sugar before pressing it into the formed cookie.  

Grandpa always sat with his back to the view - an expansive landscape of water and rolling Ozark hills.  If I had to guess, it was because he rather enjoyed the view AT the table.  His family.  I never went a day wondering if he loved me - it was a certainty.  I miss him every day.  These are for you Grumps!

Salted Peanut Crisps

after Betty Crocker's Cookie Book

• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup butter (softened)
• 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups toffee peanuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cream vegetable shortening, butter and sugar until light in color - 5 minutes or so.  Add eggs and vanilla. 

In a seperate bowl, stir together dry ingredients (flour, soda, salt) and then add, all at once, to butter mixture and stir to combine.  Add peanuts.  

Form into tablespoon size balls and place 2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Dip a glass into granulated sugar and then flatten the cookies with the glass.  

Bake 10-12 minutes until the edges are just starting to brown.  Cool completely before eating - the peanuts taste really weird if you don't.   

*Special thanks to my "food stylist in training" - Olivia - for the photo.