By: Darcie Thom

Just a few days ago, I received a phone call from a local reader who was curious to know if we could start putting recipes in the paper again. This seemed a little ironic that she had called and asked this because that morning, I had thought up the perfect column idea for Fire Safety awareness, a no-fail cookie recipe, one that I have never successfully burned!

I figured that people would be thinking to themselves “I wish I had a burn-free recipe for cookies so that I could help with fire prevention”. Well, here we go, I have answered your wishes, or at least let me think that I have!

I have never, truthfully and honestly, ever burned this particular recipe and that says a lot for me! I have never had that talent for baking without the burn…. And have grown accustom to the taste of burned cookies! I know what you’re saying, “eeeewwwhhh, gross!”, I thought that too until I realized that I would never get to eat a soft gooey cookie if I had to make it! That is, unless it comes from the grocers freezer in a blue-roll!

So, shall we get started? Wash those hands and be ready to make the best ‘Frog Eyes’ that you have ever had (I thought it might be fun to make something Halloween-like)! You will need:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. Vanilla

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1tsp. Baking soda

1 tsp. Salt

1/2 cup Smarties

1 cup M & M’s

Cream butter and (both) sugars together. Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, salt and first amount of chocolate bits. Mix well. Drop by spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet. Press in remaining candies on top of cookies using 2 or 3 per cookie. Bake in 375 degree oven for 8 - 10 minutes until golden brown. Mmmmmmm! Delicious!

Hopefully I haven’t cursed this recipe and it works out for other people as well!

Some of my favorite pastimes were watching my Grandma in her kitchen. It didn’t matter what she baked, it was always mouthwatering! I remember being Grandma and Grandpa’s assistant during the holiday season(s) adding a little of this, a little of that, and a good handful of another ingredient (usually chocolate or candies, mmmm!). We had to be professional, so we all wore our aprons, Grandmas was navy blue with red writing on it, Grandpas was Snoopy (tapping a bone on his dish) and mine was exactly like Grandpas (only 100 times smaller)!

It never mattered if we made a mess, because that was what baking was all about! Grandma used to powder our faces with flour before we got started so it looked like we were hard at work during our baking session, when really we hadn’t even started yet. She often reminded me that “every recipe is unique, just like every baker!”

I can’t say that I have inherited her baking passion or critique, in all honesty, I don’t remember ever eating a burned cookie!

Wait a minute…. Grandpa! Now I get it, whenever I made a batch of cookies, Grandpa would always take my burned cookies and say “I don’t have the heart to see you throw those away”. I thought he was having pity on me! Now it all makes sense as to why no one ever saw a burned cookie coming from Grandma!

Good luck and enjoy!