Historical March 1991 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Several years ago Paul Kurtz asked me to contribute some baked goods to the annual Rags to Riches fund raiser sponsored by the Rosedale Neighborhood Association. Being a charter member of International Procrastinators Anonymous I delayed till the late evening before the event to determine what to bake.
I traveled to a grocery store that advertised 24-hour service and searched for a package of chocolate chips with a recipe for cookies on it.
With chips in hand I wandered about the store in search of the ingredients listed on the back of the bag, not always remembering the proper conversions of ounces to cups or cups to pounds.
I acquired an assortment of nuts, raisins, eggs, butter, coconut, extracts, sugars and flour. Upon returning home in preparation of diving into this baking adventure.
I opened a bottle of Montelle Miraclair White, a dry Missouri table wine.
Now put in the proper state of mind, I embarked.
After the butter had softened, I added to it the granulated sugar and the firmly packed brown sugar. Once this mixture became creamy, about one half glass of wine, I added the two eggs and beat this mixture till one Stan Getz bossanova song was played.
I then guessed at the amount of vanilla and almond extracts I poured into the creamed butter mixture.
In a separate, smaller bowl I combined the flour, baking soda and salt.
Then I slowly, about one glass of wine’s worth or two melodic Herbie Hancock song’s worth, folded the dry ingredients into the creamed ingredients.
As I added the chocolate chips and nuts I thought I noticed the batter getting too thick and for every cup or so of nuts, rolled oats. raisins and coconut I added one egg and one half cup of butter or there abouts. Once all the ingredients were mixed I spooned them onto an ungreased cookie sheet and baked in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees for around 10 minutes. At the end of all this I had roughly eight dozen cookies and half of a bottle of wine.
From time to time I’ve made these cookies and have put in whatever nuts or additional ingredients were in stock in our pantry, which is what tends to make them so urbane.
URBAN-GUERRILLA COOKIES
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 eggs
12 oz chocolate chips
varied amounts of rolled oats, chipped nuts, golden raisins and coconut.
Original photograph caption
Roy Roncal photographed his choice of a favorite menu—a plate of cookies, a glass of wine, and music.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, March 1991.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1991_03.pdf, printed page(s) 4; PDF page(s) 4.
