Hootin' Around

Can you find the Watchful one?

When my mom was about 12 years old she used to walk to the grocery store with her good friend and look on the back of flour or sugar bags for the latest Pillsbury Cookbook subscription.  They would write down the address, tape 20 cents to an envelope and mail their subscription off.  Back then, getting mail was a huge deal, especially for a young girl and she couldn't be more excited when she got Volume II of The Pillsbury's Best Butter Cookie Cookbook.  She and her friend would whip up the recipes listed in this book and one that she has made over and over again is the Owl Cookie Recipe.  It was a hit 50 years ago and continues to be one of our family's favorite cookies to eat every Fall.  So when we decided to make them last weekend, my mom brought down from the cupboard a plastic bag that was holding together her now loosely paged cookbook from when she was a girl.  No, it's not a family recipe but these little owls have created a lot of memories over the years and have encouraged us to tell old stories and make new ones to tell years down the road.  So, today I share with you the recipe that I look forward to making with my mom every November.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1/4 tsp. baking soda
chocolate chips for the eyes
cashews for the noses

The Steps:

Cream the butter and brown sugar together.  Add the unbeaten egg and vanilla and beat well.  Blend in the sifted dry ingredients gradually (flour, baking powder and salt).

Melt the chocolate in the microwave (melting instructions are on the chocolate box).  Add the baking soda to the melted chocolate and mix together.  Remove 2/3 of the dough to a floured surface.  Blend the chocolate mixture into the remaining 1/3 dough.

Roll out half of the light dough into a 10 x 4 in. strip (roughly, as you can see mine is a lot longer than that).  Shape half of the dark dough into a roll 10 in. long.  Place on the strip of light dough and mold sides of the light dough around the dark dough.  Repeat with the remaining dough.  Wrap both rolls with foil and chill for 2 hours.  Cut 1/4 in. thick slices from the log and place 2 slices together on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Pinch a corner of each slice to form owl ears.  Place chocolate chips in the dark dough for eyes and press a whole cashew nut between the slices for the beak.  Bake in a 350 degrees over for about 8 - 12 mins.  They should be slightly brown on the edges.  Then you know they're done!

The original book.

Give these a try and let the kids make the finishing owl touches with the eyes and beaks.  That's always been my favorite part!