In which a cookie frenzy occurs

Mother's been wanting to do more cookies ever since we finished up all the Thanksgiving cookies. Sunday seemed like a good day since she was home, and I thought that it's easier to make several batches at once rather than to do them at seperate times.

We started out with Toll House cookies, and proceeded with Ranger cookies. Ranger cookies are an old family favorite, but since no one has heard of them, here's my mom's recipe:

Ranger Cookies - Angie Unruh

1 cup shortening (Melanie uses butter)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 cups Rice Krispies

1 cup shredded coconut

Cream together the shortening, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and mix into the sugar mixture. Combine the oats, Rice Krispies and coconut; fold by hand into the wet ingredients – the mixer seems to crush the Rice Krispies. The dough will be crumbly. Spoon onto parchment- or non-stick foil-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350º for 8-10 minutes.

We then made two batches of Spritz cookies, adapted from Joy of Cooking. One was tinted green; the other was red.

Spritz Cookies

Sift together:

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

Cream together:

¾ cup sugar

1 cup butter

Add:

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon almond extract

Food coloring

Stir in the flour.

Beat well. Put a cookie press onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 7 minutes at 350°, or until barely brown around bottom edge.

Finally, I mixed up a batch of my Tres Riche Holiday Cookies, also adapted from Joy of Cooking. They're not cut out yet; I used the Chrismoose variation.

Tres Riche Holiday Cookies (Foundation for Great Pumpkin Cookies and Fall Leaf Cookies)

Cream together:

1 cup butter

⅔ cup sugar

Beat in:

1 egg

1 teaspoon almond extract

Combine and add:

2 ½ cups high altitude flour

½ scant teaspoon salt

Roll and cut out; bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes, until the bottom edges just barely brown. Decorate with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat until fluffy:

1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

Add gradually:

1 pound confectioner’s sugar

Add sugar until the mixture is thick and spreadable. Add more sugar to thicken; add a few drops of milk to soften.

Divide and color with:

Several drops of food coloring

Chrismoose Cookies variation:

Replace the almond with vanilla, and:

Stir into the dry ingredients:

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

I use a huge moose cookie cutter. Decorate with piped holly leaves and berries.