#I forgot to handwrite my name and to add my texture lol

[abbeyofcyn]

Turtle tots doodles

Top right was inspired by me and my sister. Too many photos of me squeezing her to death

[hannahchronism]

I wish I had thought of this sooner because now probably you have made all your things unless you are a late night person or plan to bake on christmas day but do u want..... a cookie recipe? Behold:

Refrigerator Cookies*

*yes they probably have a proper name, no I don't care what it is

ID: A yellow notecard with the recipe listed in cursive handwriting, there are a few small stains on the card, and the whole thing has been laminated. Stains and all. Authenticity! End ID.

Transcription & more baking instructions below!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (we use real butter but margarine and other substitutes should work fine!)

1 cup (granulated cane) sugar

1 cup brown sugar (light or dark, doesn't matter)

2 eggs (grade A is best for ratio reasons)

1 and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups "flower" (all-purpose baking flour lol)

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 cup chopped pecans (optional! but really very good)

[.... You know what? While typing this I just realized I forgot the salt in the batch I just made. hm...... The butter was salted it's probably fine.]

Bake at 400° Fahrenheit (204 Celsius- do you guys cook with Celsius too or is it only for weather?) for 8-10 minutes until light brown*

*the dough is already brown. I do not know how to advise you of its baked color you kind of just have to do your best, watch the edges. They're still good slightly overbaked don't worry about it.

Mixing Instructions:

DO NOT PREHEAT YOUR OVEN (YET)

1. Soften or melt your butter (/butter substitute)

Either soften by leaving it at room temperature for awhile, or melt it in the microwave (30 seconds at a time for best, least like to explode all over your microwave results.) Melted is better than softened, in my opinion, but either is functional. (Melted just effects the final texture, they're chewier this way. Also it makes the next step easier.)

2. Mix in sugars.

Once butter(/sub) is soft/melted, pour in the white sugar and brown sugar. One at a time works better with softened butter, both can go in at the same time for melted. Mix until combined. It's going to have a very pasty, gritty texture.

3. Add eggs.

Crack your eggs into the mix, watch for shell bits. Mix in the eggs until all trace of them disappears, like a magic trick! The mix will still be gritty and unpleasant looking.

4. Add vanilla, salt, and baking soda.

I know the card lists flour next but it's better to do this here. It also helps keep you from forgetting the salt (🤡). Mix until these things disappear, and maybe a little more just to be sure everything is all distributed.

5. Add cinnamon.

It's going to look like a lot and smell intensely like pumpkin pie or apple pie and change the color from looks-like-chocolate-chip-cookies to a much darker brown, and you're going to go "...really? two tablespoons?" but trust the process. Really, two tablespoons. Stir! until combined and very brown.

6. Now add the flour.

One cup at a time!!!!! Or even half a cup at a time! Trust me adding all three cups at the same time will just make a mess and you'll be sad. One cup in, stir until it disappears. Repeat two more times. Now, like most cookie dough, the amount of flour is a little flexible. Once you've added all three cups, if your dough is still very sticky you need to add more flour! Personally I usually end up with about another... 1/4 a cup? but I live in a very humid climate. You're looking for a playdough-like texture! It sticks more to itself than the mixing bowl or spoon (/spatula, whatever you're mixing with. Hey don't use a whisk by the way.) You should be able to pick it up with your hands and move it without it sticking to you. If you've ever made the pilsburry roll of chocolate chip cookies, where you buy the dough in a little tube? Like that. If your dough gets too crumbly, and won't stick to itself anymore, you've gone too far!!! You can revive this with a little little bit of water, like a teaspoon at a time, until you get it back to sticks-to-itself. It really shouldn't take a lot, and you don't want to add too much because it can throw off bake times and make your cookies thin and weird.

7. Add pecans.

I like to do this step here, and sort of just fold them into the (play)dough. You could also put them in before the flour, with the cinnamon! Whichever is easiest or least aggravating, it doesn't especially matter. Just make sure they're not all clumped up together. Also the pecans are optional but (barring an allergy of course) I really would say leave them in and try it this way at least once! I would... not substitute in peanuts. Or any other nut I can think of, unless it has a similar texture to a pecan? Walnuts would probably be ok, if you're so inclined.

8. Throw those suckers in the FRIDGE baby

We generally separate the dough in halves for this step! It's not strictly necessary, but it makes things easier to manage. Take your dough out of the bowl and slap it onto some wax paper. (Do not use parchment paper, it will leach out the moisture and your dough will stick to it and become a little crumbly and you will be sad.) Using the wax paper like a weird blanket or burrito wrap, shape your dough into a vaguely rectangle shape, fold the wax paper over it so that it's completely covered, and then put your dough-log in the fridge. The dough absolutely *MUST* rest in the fridge for at least three hours. We usually leave it overnight! It's convenient and also generally yields best results. But, if you're in a little more of a rush than that, three hours is fine. But no less!!!!! We've baked them without letting them rest before and it just doesn't work as well and they burn so quickly and so completely. They turn into charcoal. Fridge your fridge cookies or suffer!!!!!!!!!!

9. Preheat & Bake!

Once they've rested for at least three hours, you can pull them out and throw them in the oven! You can shape them, if you like. Roll them into balls like chocolate chip cookies or .. I think cookie cutters could be used here? If you're quick about rolling them out. We slice them from the 'log' and lay them on a (greased or lined!) baking sheet straightaway, so the cookie is sort of long and vaguely rectangular. It makes them distinctive and also you want them as cold as possible when they go in the oven, to keep from burning, so this is the most efficient way to do it! But, the shape doesn't have any real significance, go ham. Bake for ... ~8-10 minutes, or until you see them getting dark around the edges (which, I know, is very difficult because they're already kind of dark.) It's kind of a guessing game? But, as mentioned above, they're good if you overshoot a batch by a little bit, and you can learn and aim a little lower for round two!

10. Enjoy!

These bad boys are so stupid good. Excellent coffee cookie. No idea if they go with tea but why wouldn't they? I'm gonna eat 100.

Okay this has been a cookie recipe, that's all, Happy Holidays ♥