People must be different in the mid-west...or perhaps it's just church members who are different. This year the demand has been slack, but for a few years I begged cookies from 6 to 8 people about 12 to 14 times a year. Not always the same people. Of those donors, I can only think of perhaps 4 times that I got bakery cookies. There were more than a few Duncan Heinz brownies but they were "home made". I never ask for 6 dozen...I ask for "a batch"...if someone asks how many I say would 3 dozen be to many? And at least every time I ask, someone says would you like me to make 2 batches? 6 dozen is a double batch of chocolate chips from the Toll house chip bag...plus some left over for the family! Now when there is a funeral...people will call before I ask and say"do you need cookies", And all the cookies don' have to be donated by the parents of the band kids.....grand parents can bake too. I always am amazed at people who are too busy to cook. My daughter has 4 kids...one special needs, so he needs more attention than the other 3. She's a teacher with something like 20 sections of Spanish....translates to about 180 students...all of whom need their papers corrected. She volunteers at church has dinner out with her DH, attends the sports events of all the kids...including Special Olympics....and she bakes cookies for school functions, casseroles for swim breakfasts. But then she's my daughter....

Thank you, everyone!! Colleen, I'd love that recipe. It isn't surprising, I guess, that the kids were eating chocolate chip and several of the "elders", by which I mean even older than me, were dunking those cinnamon snaps in coffee. It's kind of a classic, I think, whereas the kids go straight for the "sweet". Writersblock, I haven't had beef processed yet, so I had extra empty freezer room for cookies! Timing was good, because in a couple of weeks the freezers will be full again. Peppi, I also had the job of cooking pasta. I cooked some ahead and refrigerated it, then just gave it a "dunk" for a minute in boiling water to heat it up. The sauce was kept warm in electric roasters and I cooked pasta throughout the event, so it was only when the servers were low and the fresh pasta wasn't quite done that we used the stuff I cooked ahead. Add some fresh hot sauce and the pasta was heated nicely. I had my "dream team" serving, three of the local police officers. One served the spaghetti and each of the other two had sauce, one with meat and one without. Parmesan cheese in shakers at the end of the line and the cookies and drinks were in one corner, the salad in another, so we didn't have people lining up at a single station, they were spread out and "serve yourself" so while some people were getting coffee or cookies, others were having salad while others were getting pasta and garlic bread. There was a bake sale and a silent auction simultaneously in different rooms of the church. It actually worked pretty well, I was pleasantly surprised. All the food was donated, so the sauce came in big containers from two local restaurants, already prepared. We just added meat to half and heated it in the roasters, but we had to brown the ground beef first, which doesn't really take long and we also did that ahead so it was ready to heat. LindaC, I didn't measure it all in pounds, but I used 4 pounds of butter, 19 cups of flour, 9 cups of oatmeal, 7 cups of white sugar and 9 1/2 cups of brown sugar, plus chocolate and butterscotch chips and various "other" condiments. I'll post the recipes on separate threads, so they're easier to find. Without figuring in my time, just the ingredients alone plus the electricity to bake them, I figure they cost about 6 cents per cookie and I'll never be able to buy one of those $3 cookies at a bakery again without thinking about that. (sigh) Mustangs, it's only about 40 dozen, so if you baked a dozen a year for the past 40 years, you've made it. (grin) I'm sure, somehow, that BeauLily has talked you into baking several dozen at least! Nothing hurts today except the muscle that runs up the back of my left leg. I know for sure I didn't "work my butt off" because it kind of hurts so I know it's still there, LOL. Annie

This one does not have wafers but is the recipe we used when we were kids BOIL 1 stick SALTED butter 2 C sugar 1/2 C cocoa powder 1/2 C milk 1/4 tsp salt ADD [after boilage] 1 tsp vanilla/or more as desired MIX WITH 2 C old fashioned oats 1 C shredded coconut DROP ONTO WAXED PAPER TO COOL ENJOY In a large bowl combine oats and coconut. Set aside. Pour mixture over oats and coconut and mix to combine Bring butter, sugar, cocoa, milk, and salt to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla (USE THE GOOD STUFF) Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper-lined lined baking sheet Sprinkle with additional coconut if desired.

We've been making pfeffernüsse. The kids are making the traditional coin-sized rounds, but I'm getting lazy--I bake the logs without slicing them, and call the results 'reindeer tongues'. They fit very well in stockings. I also made a double batch of Russian teacakes (same recipe as Glenda's pecan meltaways, but my cookbook calls them Russian teacakes, and so did my mother when I was child). They are my niece's favorite, but she had to cancel out on a visit planned for this past week-end. Guess who is eating the teacakes ... me. They are melt-in-your-mouth good, so I might have to make another batch, or two, before Christmas. ETA, I was also lazy with that recipe--I rolled out the dough 1 inch thick and used my pizza wheel to cut in 1 inch square pieces. After baking, I blasted them with my powdered sugar shaker, once while they were warm, and again after they cooled.