1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cardamom (nutmeg will also work, but

cardamom is better)

4 and 1/2 cups flour (pack it down in the cup when you

measure it)

3 cups white chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)58

3 cups rolled oats (uncooked oatmeal I used Quaker's

Quick-1 Minute)

Melt the b.u.t.ter in a large microwave-safe bowl, or on the stove in a small saucepan. (It should melt in about 3 minutes in the microwave on HIGH.) Mix in the brown sugar and the white sugar, then set the bowl on the counter to cool.

Feel the bowl with the b.u.t.ter/sugars mixture. When it's not so hot it'll cook the eggs, add them and mix them in. Then add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla extract, and spices. Make sure everything is thoroughly combined.

Add the flour in half-cup increments, mixing after each addition. Then add the white chocolate chips (or pieces of white chocolate if you cut up a block) and stir thoroughly.

Add the rolled oats and mix. The dough will be quite stiff.

Drop by teaspoons onto a greased cookie sheet (or sprayed with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray), 12 cookies to a standard-sized sheet.

Flatten the cookies on the sheet with a greased metal spatula (or with the palm of your impeccably clean hand). You don't have to smush them all the way down so they look like pancakes just one squish will do it.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 11 to 13 minutes or until the cookies are an attractive golden brown. (Mine took the full 13 minutes.) Cool the cookies for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 10 to 12 dozen delicious cookies, depending on cookie size.

These freeze well if you roll them in foil and put them in a freezer bag.

Hannah's Note: These cookies will go fast, even frozen. If you want to throw the midnight freezer raiders off the track, wrap the cookie rolls in a double thickness of foil and then stick them in a freezer bag. Label the bag with a food your family doesn't like (I use BEEF TONGUE, or PORK KIDNEYS, or even LUTEFISK. It works every time, even when Andrea's around.) WALNUT-DATE CHEWS.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

1 cup b.u.t.ter (2 sticks, 8 ounces, pound)

3 cups brown sugar (pack it down in the cup when you

measure it)

4 eggs, beaten (just stir them up in a gla.s.s with a fork)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 Tablespoon (3 teaspoons) vanilla extract

2 cups finely chopped walnuts (measure AFTER chopping)

1 cup chopped dates59

4 cups flour (don't sift pack it down in the cup when you

measure it)

Melt the b.u.t.ter on HIGH in a microwave-safe container for 90 seconds, or in a small saucepan on the stove over low heat.

Transfer the melted b.u.t.ter to a large mixing bowl and add the brown sugar. Mix it well and let it cool to slightly above room temperature, just enough so that it won't cook the eggs when you add them!

Mix in the beaten eggs. Stir until they're thoroughly incorporated.

Add the salt, baking soda, and vanilla extract. Mix it all up together.

Mix in the chopped walnuts and let the dough rest while you chop the dates.

You can chop your dates by hand with a knife, but it's a lot easier in a food processor or blender. If they're whole dates, pit them first (of course), cut each one into two or three pieces with a knife, put them into the bowl of your food processor or blender, and sprinkle a little flour (approximately cup) on top. The flour will keep them from "gumming up" when you process them.

Measure one cup of chopped dates and add them to your mixing bowl. Stir them in thoroughly.

Add the flour in one-cup increments, mixing after each addition. This dough will be fairly stiff.

Form the dough into 1-inch b.a.l.l.s with your impeccably clean fingers. Place them on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard-size sheet. (You can also spray the cookie sheet with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, or line it with parchment paper.) No need to flatten the dough b.a.l.l.s. They'll spread out when they bake.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then use a metal spatula to remove them to a wire rack to complete cooling.

Hannah's Note: These were my father's favorites. Mother likes them, too. Lisa says her dad likes these best with a dish of vanilla ice cream.

Yield: Approximately 8 dozen tasty cookies, depending on cookie size.

WALNUTTOES.

DO NOT preheat oven - this dough must chill before baking.

2 cups chocolate chips (a 12-ounce bag)

cup b.u.t.ter (1 and sticks, 6 ounces)