White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Makes 40-50 cookies.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup pack light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract, room temperature
2 large eggs
2 cups good white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped pecans

Position racks in the top and lower third of the oven and preheat to 375.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl combine butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and beat until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.

Reduce the mixer's speed to low. Add the flour mixture a little at a time and beat until the batter is smooth. Turn off the mixer and stir in the white chocolate chunks and pecans.

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheets lined with parchment (or use ungreased sheets) and bake in batches, turning the sheets once if necessary, until the cookies are golden brown but still soft to the touch--about ten minutes. Cool on sheet for two minutes before transferring to racks to continue cooling.  Cookies can be stored in a sealed container. 


Grandma's Brown Sugar Cookie Bars, Diane's mother's recipe, a family favorite!

4 eggs
1 package dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps baking powder
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup shredded coconut, optional

Stir together eggs and dark brown sugar in top of double boiler pan until smooth. Add water to lower db pan and turn burner on medium heat. After water comes to a full boil, cook with lid on for three minutes. Stir in flour, salt, and baking powder, and mix just until smooth. Remove from burner and add vanilla, nuts, and coconut.

Pour into buttered 9 x 13 pan and bake 30 to 35 minutes--but don't overbake. Test by touching lightly. Cookie mixture should be shiny on the top and soft and spongy to the touch. Cool before cutting into bars. 

If you don't have a double boiler, you can cook the eggs and brown sugar in the microwave for three minutes, then continue with the rest of the directions as given above.  

We've had many requests for the cookies made by Kate Hanlon in Diane's mysteries, THROUGH THE FIRE and ANGELS UNDERCOVER.  Following are some of Diane's favorite cookie recipes, which Kate is often mixing together and baking while puzzling the latest mystery in the popular series, Mystery and the Minister's Wife.

Come back often for updates, especially as we near the publication of Diane's next book for the series--THE MISSING INGREDIENT, which features a cooking show, prima donna celebrity chefs, a missing producer,a haunted hotel...and lots of fun gourmet recipes at the heart of the mystery.

Kate's Favorite Oatmeal Cranberry Pecan Cookies (From ANGEL'S UNDERCOVER) Makes 20 cookies.

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh grated or ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves (optional)
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract, room temperature (or substitute vanilla with 1 tsp almond extract, which is also delicious!)
2 3/4 cups rolled oats
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped pecans

Position the racks in the top and lower third of the oven and preheat to 350.

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Raise the speed to high and mix until fluffy. Scrape sides of the bowl from time to time with a rubber spatula (with mixer off).

Add the brown sugar and mix until incorporated. Add the eggs to the butter mixture, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.

Reduce the mixer's speed to low. Add the flour mixture a little at a time until the batter is smooth. Turn off the mixer and stir in the oats, cranberries, and pecans.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (or use ungreased sheets). Drop dough in heaping tablespoons onto the sheets and bake in batches, turning the sheets once if necessary, until the cookies are golden brown but still soft to the touch--about fifteen minutes.

Let the cookies cool for two minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool. Cookies can be stored in a sealed container.