Barry looked completely awestruck. “I never expected . . .” Barry stopped speaking and just shook his head. “That’s . . . that’s incredible!”
“And it’s the reason why the people in Minnesota love Wally Wallace,” Joey said. “Now . . . let’s all pick up our afternoon snack bags. I took a quick peek at mine, and I noticed that Sally, Hannah, and Andrea had baked us some of my favorite things. We have Double Pineapple Cookies, Hot Fudge and Vanilla Bar Cookies, and there’s even a couple of Chocolate, Fruit, and Nut Cupcakes. There’s even a little thermos of Dick’s famous lemonade.”
“With or without Dick’s special ingredient?” one of the contestants asked.
“I didn’t ask Dick, but I think it’s probably without something from behind the bar,” Joey answered. “And I’m pretty sure Doc told Dick to make it nonalcoholic. Doc said all of you had a perfect record for HRIs so far and that made him very happy.”
“What are HRIs?” one of the wives asked, and Joey laughed. “I asked Doc about that, and he told me the initials stood for hook-related injuries.” There was a burst of general laughter and then everyone was quiet again. “Okay,” Joey said. “I think we’ve covered everything. Now . . . let’s all get out on the water and catch the biggest lunker in Eden Lake!”
DOUBLE PINEAPPLE COOKIES
DO NOT preheat oven—dough must chill before baking.
Ingredients:
? cup well-drained crushed pineapple
6 ounces (1 and ? sticks) salted butter
? cup white (granulated) sugar
? cup brown sugar (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
? teaspoon pineapple extract
? teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs, beaten (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)
2 cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
2 cups white chocolate or vanilla baking chips
Hannah’s 1st Note: You can mix up these cookies by hand, but it’s easiest with an electric mixer.
Prepare your cookie sheets by spraying them with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. Alternatively, you can line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Set a strainer over a small bowl in the sink. Then open the can of crushed pineapple and drain it in the strainer, reserving the pineapple juice in the bowl for later.
Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 1 minute (60 seconds).
Let the melted butter sit in the microwave for an additional minute. If it’s not completely melted, microwave it in 20-second increments with 20-second standing times until it is melted.
Set the melted butter on the kitchen counter to let it cool a bit.
Put the white sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer.
Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the white sugar.
Add the teaspoon of salt and the vanilla and pineapple extracts.
Turn the mixer on LOW and mix until the sugars and salt are well blended.
With the mixer still running on LOW speed, add the baking soda and the baking powder. Mix thoroughly.
Drizzle in the melted butter, continuing to mix on LOW speed.
Shut off the mixer and scrape down the inside of the mixing bowl.
Use several thicknesses of paper towels to pat down the crushed pineapple in the strainer. Then measure out ? cup of the pineapple and add it to your mixing bowl.
Turn the mixer back on LOW speed again and mix in the pineapple.
If you haven’t done so already, break the 2 eggs into a glass and beat them with a fork from your silverware drawer.
Add the beaten eggs to your bowl and mix them in.
Measure out the flour and add it to your mixing bowl in half-cup increments, mixing on LOW speed after each addition.
Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
Take the mixing bowl out of the mixer and set it on the kitchen counter.
Give your Double Pineapple Cookie dough a stir by hand.
Open the bag of white chocolate or vanilla baking chips and sprinkle them into your mixing bowl.
Mix in the chips by hand.
Press a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the cookie dough and tuck it in at the sides.
Refrigerate your cookie dough for at least 45 minutes. (Overnight is fine too.)
Make sure you cover that small bowl you used to reserve the pineapple juice and refrigerate it along with your cookie dough. You can either use it to make the Pineapple Frosting Drizzle on the following page or add it to the kids’ orange juice in the morning. If there’s any crushed pineapple left over, it makes a very nice addition to a bowl of vanilla ice cream.
When you’re ready to bake your cookies, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F., rack in the middle position. Leave your cookie dough in the refrigerator until your oven has come up to baking temperature.
Take your cookie dough out of the refrigerator and use a spoon or a 2-teaspoon scooper to transfer balls of dough to your prepared cookie sheets, 12 cookies to a standard-size cookie sheet.
Bake your Double Pineapple Cookies at 375 degrees F. for 10 to 14 minutes. (Mine took 12 minutes.) When your cookies are done, take them out of the oven and place them on cold stovetop burners or wire racks. Let them cool on the cookie sheets for at least 3 minutes, and then remove them to cool completely on wire racks.
When your cookies are cool, decorate the tops with Pineapple Frosting Drizzle. (Recipe follows) Yield: 3 to 4 dozen soft, chewy cookies, depending on cookie size.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: These cookies are good just the way they are, but everyone seems to think that the frosting drizzle adds a lot.
PINEAPPLE FROSTING DRIZZLE
Ingredients:
? cup powdered sugar (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
1 teaspoon pineapple extract
2 to 3 Tablespoons pineapple juice
Mix everything together and beat until smooth and of the right consistency to drizzle on the top of your cookies. You can either drizzle it off the tip of a spoon, or put the frosting drizzle in a squeeze bottle like the ones they used to use in diners to hold ketchup.
HOT FUDGE AND VANILLA BAR COOKIES
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
2 cups (4 sticks, 16 ounces, 1 pound) salted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup white (granulated) sugar
1 and ? cups powdered (confectioners) sugar
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
The Hot Fudge Filling:
12.25-ounce jar hot fudge ice cream topping (I used Smucker’s)
12-ounce bag (approximately 2 cups) white chocolate or vanilla baking chips
1 Tablespoon sea or Kosher salt (the coarse-ground kind)
Before you begin to make the crust and filling, spray a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan with Pam or another nonstick baking spray.
Hannah’s 1st Note: This crust and filling is a lot easier to make with an electric mixer. You can do it by hand, but it will take some muscle.
Combine the butter, white sugar, and powdered sugar in a large bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat at MEDIUM speed until the mixture is light and creamy.