Nostalgia (No Bake Cookies)

 

Now that we're expecting Henne-baby number 2 (who, we found out, is actually Henne-Girl!) I've been thinking a lot about the things that I used to do with my mom when I was growing up.  Every mother tries to be the best she can be, and I've been thinking a lot about what that means to me.  I haven't come up with anything that would make a coherent post yet, just a lot of disjointed ideas and manic lists running through my brain, and I'll sort all that out at a later date.  The only thing my pregnant mind could think of today was No Bake Cookies.

I haven't made these cookies for at least 15 years, but I think about them a lot.  To me, they symbolize childhood.  My mom would make up the mixture and we would spoon them onto wax paper and wait patiently (hahaha) for them to set up in the fridge before devouring as many as we could.  The leftovers would go in the flat red Tupperware container with the opaque lid, where they would sit, quietly tempting us, until after dinner when my father got to them and they were no more.

This makes me wonder - what sort of memories will I make for my kids?  I honestly don't think my mother or my grandmother ever worried about making memories.  I think they just made cookies.  That's the beauty of family life - cookies and Tupperware and kitchen tables and floral print couches that become memories, become the stuff of the soul.  

And since today, I wasn't sure how to make memories...I just made cookies, too.

And my kid remembers at least that they are in the fridge.  And that they are delicious.  What more could you ask for?

No Bake Cookies

(an original from the blue Binder o' Recipes)

2 cups granulated sugar

6 tablespoons cocoa powder

pinch of salt

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups oats

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, cocoa, salt and milk.  Stir in the butter until melted.  Bring to a boil and let boil for 3 minutes without stirring.  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and peanut butter.  Stir until melted and combined, then add the oats.  Stir until coated.  Drop by the heaping tablespoon onto cookies sheets covered with wax paper.  Allow to set in the fridge 20-30 minutes.  Store in a cool place or in the fridge.