Baked these cookies with Fooey on one of the hottest afternoons so far this summer. Because they’re made with peanut butter, I’ve been waiting till school’s out to try the recipe (what’s the point of whipping up a huge batch of non-lunch-box-friendly treats?). Due to the weird and wonderful hotscotch world of Facebook, I acquired this recipe via my Facebook friend, Laura, who is actually the childhood friend of my real-life friend and neighbour, Nina; Laura got the recipe from Nina’s mom, Bonnie, and dug out the recipe and posted it on her Facebook account; I’d asked Nina for the recipe several years ago after eating them at a birthday party, but neither of us followed through. So I was pretty excited to discover Bonnie’s recipe within my grasp. Laura’s recipe noted Nina’s substitutions, but came without any directions, which I’ve added. Bonnie doubles it. Here’s the recipe:

Bonnie’s cookies

1 cup lard (or butter; or peanut butter), creamed with 1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar (Bonnie uses 2 cups). Add in 2 eggs beaten with 1 teaspoon vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together 1 and 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Combine with wet ingredients. Then using your very strongest arm, add in 3 cups of oats, and 1 cup of smarties or other bright coloured round candy, or chocolate chips. I ended up kneading the oats and smarties into the stiff batter. Place by tablespoons onto tray. Bake at 375 for … well, here is where the controversy sets in. 8 minutes if you want them gooey and soft, like Bonnie makes them (remove from the oven before they look remotely baked). I baked them 10 minutes and they were much harder, but transportable, and still soft on the inside. But not like Bonnie’s, I was informed by Nina, who tested them in our backyard yesterday.

Enjoy.