Super Moon Ranger Cookies

On Sunday, we were lucky enough to watch the Super Moon rise while sailing in New York Harbor aboard the Pioneer, the South Street Seaport Museum's 1885 schooner. (A sail on this vessel is highly recommended, during any phase of the moon.)

Our children and their others brought themselves (always a treat), our friends brought the wine and I brought a portable dessert --  fantastic ranger cookies in quantities large enough to share with the crew.

These are beyond delicious cookies, chewy and crisp, and way more than the sum of their parts.  I was stunned at how good they were, especially because they called for corn flakes.  Corn flakes!  A little research revealed that while there are many variations of ranger cookies, they always contain oats, coconut and some sort of breakfast cereal, usually rice crispies or cornflakes.

Begin with soft butter (two sticks!), and white and brown sugar.

Prepare the "secret" ingredients: oats, coconut and corn flakes.

Mix everything together. The corn flakes will break up naturally when mixed in to the batter.

Roll the batter into small balls, about one-inch diameter.

Place them on a baking sheet and depress each one with the tines of a fork.

Production notes: I used all butter (no solid shortening).  Because this recipe is difficult to read, I've written out instructions below.

Ranger Cookies

1 c. butter
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 c. quick-cooking oats
2 c. whole corn flakes
1 c. sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 375 F

Cream the butter with the sugars.
Add eggs and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.  Add to the mixture.
Add a small amount of water.
Add the oats, corn flakes and coconut. Mix until well combined.
Roll into small balls and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving space for spreading.
Flatten each cookie slightly with a fork.
Bake 9 to 13 minutes until brown.
Let cool for a few minutes and then remove to baking rack.

Chocolate Flake Pudding

How's that New Year's resolution diet coming along?  Hard to believe but in years past in America, calories were highly prized.*  (They still are in many parts of the world, but that's another sad story entirely.)

Chocolate Flake Pudding -- the flake is actually corn flakes -- is breakfast and dessert rolled into one, and whose intent must have been to pile on the calories. I found the recipe in a composition book, filled with carefully handwritten notes (and plenty of recipes) from a 1935 cooking school class.

This pudding is the perfect food to feed a child who needs to gain weight.  It has relatively little sugar, and lots of milk, eggs and cornflakes.  The DH and I found it mighty addictive.  The texture is unusual, but not in a bad way, and the flavor is quite nice.

So, if you feel like taking the plunge, photos and directions follow.
It starts like traditional pudding, with milk, sugar and cocoa powder.

Then, comes the corn flakes.

Add two beaten eggs.

Pour the pudding into a buttered casserole dish and bake at 350 for about 35 minutes.

When it's done, it will look like this. It's ok if it's a bit jiggly in the center.  It is pudding, after all.

*If you don't believe me that calories were king in some circles, here's a chart from a 1923 Minute Tapioca recipe book  boasting of the high calorie count of tapioca.