Thursday, March 6, 2008

Mud Pie Cookies, Bad and Good

A few weeks ago our local newspaper had an article about poor Haitian women who were making cookies out of mud. Really. Somewhere in Haiti there is a type of clay which is rich in nutrients that was traditionally used to make cookies for postpartum women because it restored nutrients lost in childbirth. Now food prices have gotten so high and the economy so bad the Haitian women have begun harvesting the clay and selling it so they can make cookies to feed their families. I find that incredibly sad.

I made these no bake cookies the other night for church. I wasn't happy with how they turned out because they didn't firm up, but someone liked them enough to ask for the recipe. (Thanks, Linda!) When I wrote the title it made me think of the Haitian mud cookies, which is what caused the above paragraph. I don't have that recipe, but here is what I made for church.

Mud Pie Cookies

1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
1 stick margarine
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

Mix cocoa, sugar, margarine, and milk in a 2-quart sauce pan. Bring to a boil at medium heat, boil 1 minute. Add oatmeal, vanilla, and peanut butter. (Nuts also, if desired.) Drop by teaspoon on wax paper. Let cool before removing. Store in and air tight container.

My favorite tool for making these and many other cookies is the Pampered Chef Small Scoop. It is similar to a melon baller with a squeeze handle that has a metal piece that scrapes out the bowl of the spoon to empty it. It makes scooping out cookies a breeze while keeping the size uniform. It is also the perfect size for filling mini-muffin pans. Oh, yeah, for melon balls, too.

2 comments:

essay research paper said...

I'll try to cook it. It seems to be very tasty. My kids like something like that.

dissertation writing uk said...

have cooked it last night. result was so great, as I thought!! thanks for recipe!