Spelling / Manitoba / Evan / Jon / Great American Cookies Snickerdoodles

I got a perfect score on the MacAdams Spelling Test. :D

Who the hell is calling me from Manitoba?! If they want to waste their long-distance minutes or whatever, that's fine... but honestly, three calls in the last few days?! I don't know anyone in Manitoba, much less anyone whose phone number is 204-927-2271. Sigh.... one of those reverse lookup directories would be really good right about now... although I think they just called me again judging from the crackling on the line when I picked up! (reminder: only pick up after TWO rings!)

Hey, Janina says she and her kids got my Christmas cards and postcards. Apparently, the card was really funny. I forget which card I sent her, but it was probably the "Santa Makes A Tragic Wrong Turn Over Tokyo" one. That featured a green monster eating the sleigh and reindeer... "mmm, venison!"

Evan finally emailed me back. I'm not going to make a comment on how he almost wrote the name of his town as "Stupidville," haha. It just struck me as funny... or maybe he knows something I don't about the stupid people there! :P But that might happen to me too if I just woke up! He also says that Canadian addresses look weird and always freak him out... maybe it's the postal code, haha. Reminds me of what Sarah Moore asked me on 3.18.2003 when she was wondering how to make a US-Canada phone call: "How do you call Canada? Your phone number looks the same as ours do down here!" Just dial like a regular phone call with the area code! :P

Jon FINALLY told us about his birthday arrangements: no Sailor Hagar's pub in North Vancouver on Saturday, phew! Nyala Ethiopian Restaurant at 7 (4148 Main St, right at Main / King Edward), followed by drinks / food at the Whip Restaurant Gallery at 10 (209 E. 6th Ave, basically Main / 6th Ave)? Geez, that's some expensive taste right there. Oh well, I'll see what I can do, haha.


Great American Cookies Snickerdoodles

Rather than trying to beat the competitors - especially if they have an exceptional product - Mrs. Fields Famous Brands waves the cash at 'em. With the acquisition of Great American Cookies in 1998 by the company that made chewy mall cookies big business, Mrs. Fields is now peddling her baked wares in more than 90 percent of the premier shopping malls in the United States. That's how you make the dough! One of the all-time favorites you can snag at any of the 364 Great American Cookies outlets is this clone of the classic snickerdoodle. Rolled in cinnamon and sugar, it's soft and chewy like the other cookies, and will seem to be undercooked when you take it out of the oven. When it cools, it should be gooey yet firm in the middle. And a couple bites will make you wonder: "Got milk?!"

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Topping
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars with an electric mixer on high speed. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until smooth.
2. In another bowl... combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
3. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.
4. Preheat oven to 300 degrees while you let the dough rest for 30 to 60 minutes in the refrigerator.
5. In a small bowl, combine the sugar with the cinnamon for the topping.
6. Take about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the dough and roll it into a ball. Roll this dough in the cinnamon / sugar mixture and press it onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat for the remaining cookies.
7. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes and no more. The cookies may seem undercooked, but will continue to develop after they are removed from the oven. When the cookies have cooled, they should be soft and chewy in the middle. Makes 16 to 18 cookies.