Jumbles...and Butter...

A little Sunday afternoon wickedness is in order every now and then.  By wickedness, I mean BUTTER, and lots of it!  Every Sunday afternoon, we have family time.  It's just our little family and we talk about things, do a special activity, learn something new, or do something all together.  It's our time, and I love it.  During the busy week, it is really hard to get enough time to do something like this, so Sunday is our day.  This set aside time is really important to our family; it helps us all know each other better, and it gives us a chance to teach each other important concepts, ideas, and values.  The thing I like the most is that my kids know that they are important enough to me that I have set aside time just to be with them.  I think that family time is lacking in today's world and children often find themselves being pushed aside for something "more important".

This week we are teaching our kids a little bit about our family history, where we come from, and how we got here.  It's kind of fun knowing your heritage!  To make it even more appealing, I made butter laden Jumbles!!!  This is my grandfather's favorite cookie.  Before he died, I would make them, and his eyes would light up, "Are those what I think they are?" he would ask.  I often answered by giving him a bite of a giant freshly baked jumble.  (He had ALS and couldn't move his arms, so we had to help him...I think that Jumbles were therapy in a way!)  It was always kind of fun to watch his smile spread across his face as he chewed (his ability to smile was something that he never lost).  Then he would always say something like, "you know, you are a marvelous cook".  To which I would reply, "I learned from you!".  I miss him.  Teaching my kids about him and what he liked is somewhat comforting.  Knowing that the Jumbles will indefinitely live on kind of immortalizes him in a sense!

So here is Grandpa Wood's favorite cookie.  I think that he loved them because they are so packed with nuts, fruit, and chocolate.  I love them because...well...there is really no reason NOT to love them.  Plus I get a Paula Deen portion of butter for the week!!!  I could just slather the butter on my hips, but cookies are more fun!!!

I make these good sized.  I use a 1/4 cup scoop when I shape them, and then drop them on a cookie sheet.  You can flatten them out just a bit if you like, but it's really not necessary.  You can also freeze the dough.  Just drop them by scoopful onto a parchment lined baking sheet and then place in the freezer for about 2 hours.  Transfer into a freezer bag, and when ever you need a cookie (which could be every single day of my life), you can thaw a few and bake them.  Easy!!!

JUMBLES

Backyard Farmgals

2 1/4 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup white chocolate chips (6 oz)

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)

2 cups dried cherries, currants or raisins (I prefer cherries)

1 1/2 cups pecan halves

1 3/4 cups toasted whole almonds, coarsely chopped

method:

Preheat oven to 350º.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.  Mix with a whisk and set aside.  

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium speed until it is soft and creamy.  Add the sugars and beat until butter and sugar is well combined and mixture is light and fluffy.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the vanilla and mix in.  Scrape the sides of the bowl again.  

Add the flour mixture about a third at a time, mixing until just combined.  Once the flour is just mixed in, add the chocolate chips, cherries, and nuts.  Mix until combined.  (This is a huge volume of dough, you have to mix very slowly and I often have to hold my hands over the mixing bowl just to make sure it doesn't spill out.  You can mix in the nuts, fruit and chocolate by hand if you like.)

Scoop the dough into balls using a 1/4 cup scoop and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet 2-3 inches apart.  Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, until lightly browned on the edges.  Remove from oven, allow to cool for 2-3 minutes on cookie sheet, then move to a cooling rack.