Cookie Snitching Fingers!

Hugo loves cookies. He doesn't call them cookies though. Hugo calls cookies "coo keys".

I put up a good fight to not let our Hugo know about the world of tasty baked goods and candy for quite some time. I figured that once he tasted a cookie that would be it. We'd be busy baking "coo keys" all the time.

When Hugo was around a year old, I had him strapped up in his highchair in the kitchen with me. I was craving some chocolate and decided to bake brownies. The thing I like the very, very most about brownies is licking the bowl clean. Hugo was still transitioning from nursing to people food at this point in time. I turned toward him with my brownie mix bowl in front of me and with very curious eyes, he watched me. I realized that he knew I was holding out on him. I looked down at my bowl and the wooden spoon smeared in chocolaty goodness and heaved a big sigh. I supposed I would have to share my chocolaty brownie goodness with him and handed over the wooden spoon. It didn't take long at all for him to lick that spoon clean. It had taken me even less time to lick my bowl clean! He dropped the spoon and pointed at my bowl and made all sorts of grunting sounds and noises. He wanted more of the brownie mix goodness. Well, there wasn't anymore to share cause I inhaled it wondering all the while if I might possibly have to share more than just the wooden spoon with him?! And that was when it hit me like a ton of bricks. From then on, or for the next at least 18 years or so, I was going to need to mix, lick and bake brownies in the dark of night. Long, long after Hugo went to bed cause I don't like to share my brownie mix lickin bowl!

These cookies are Cesar's favorite. He has nicknamed them the Everything Cookie. Cesar isn't big on sweets or deserts at all for that matter. He likes ice cream. Doesn't matter how freezing cold it might be outside - Cesar will eat ice cream. Trust me. He doesn't like brownie mix, thank heavens.

Here is my Everything Cookie recipe:

1 cup butter
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons milk
vanilla extract, to your liking, I like a lot of vanilla
2 cups flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup raisins
1 cup coconut

Cream the butter, and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, milk, and vanilla and beat until blended

Sift the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt together and add to the butter mixture. Stir just until blended. Stir in oats. Fold in chocolate, walnuts, raisins and coconut. Refrigerate the dough covered for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350F. Shape dough into balls. Bake until the edges are slightly browned but the cookies are still white, 8 - 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on their cookie sheets for a few minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.