Laura Ingalls Wilder Had a Blackberry

I'm certain of it. I actually proved it tonight with the help of a few lemons and the scientific method.

Stand by for details.

But first, a little gift for my neighbors this Christmas. Just a simple stack of cookies, wrapped with the fabby paper from the "Wish" Simply Scrappin' kit and tied up with a ribbon.

I just made a tube out of the paper, adhered it with sticky strip, and tied it around the outside of the tube after the wrapped cookies were down in it. I punched two holes near the top with my rectangle punch to thread the ribbon through at the top. I added a little gift card, accented with more Wish accessories, and the little stamped bird is from Hero Arts, colored with my Ruby Red Marker and my white pencil.

But what is in that little tube, you ask?

Well, grasshopper, I will tell you. To make these cookies, you will need a blackberry.

You know how everyone tells those stories about how Reese's or fried chicken or any food you love was created in a horrible cooking accident where a chicken fell into the peanut butter jar, someone licked it and realized it was the greatest thing ever?

You know what I'm talking about.

Well that's what happened with these cookies.

I'm out of toner in my printer, so I couldn't print this recipe when I got home. So I just emailed it to myself, and read it quickly on my blackberry, trying not to get sugar and butter on my phone.

Two things happened.

1) I said to heck with the food processor - I'm not cleaning that. So, since she first asks for just two of the three cups of sugar, I hand mixed two cups with the lemon zest.
2) Reading it quickly on my phone, I thought she forgot the third cup in the recipe, so I added it to my mixer just before the flour.

When rolling them, and scrolling down on the crackberry to the cooking time, I realize I was supposed to reserve that third cup and some of the lemon zest to roll the cookies in before baking.

Oops. Darn tiny screen.

Oh well - too late now.

So I bake them, and

o

m

g.

I think these are the best cookies I've ever had. They came out sort of macaroon-like, with a crisp and chewy outside, and an airy, moist inside with a sweet lemony goodness that comes from angels. Look how they fell, like popovers. MMM. I wouldn't have liked the sugar on the outside anyway, but THIS was a happy accident little pioneers would have been proud to call an "original recipe".

So all this to say - no way could the Ingalls women have innovated like this without a blackberry, clearly. You ladies aren't fooling anyone with your handmade bonnets - you were googling the patterns on your phone!!!

Anyway - they are heavenly. Do try.

Then, some 30 second thank you notes with kraft cardstock, patterned paper scraps and Sincere Salutations. Great quick project for all those holiday Thank Yous!!

And PS - to Eric - here's a link to the donkey!

Happy Monday!!