While my Dad was in the middle of some really nasty chemotherapy and unable to eat anything, we talked a lot about food. A love for cooking and eating had always been one of the things we shared and something we spoke of often, but when he wasn't able to eat anything at all, it was all consuming for him. I was keeping him company in the hospital one afternoon while he slept and when he woke up the very first thing he said was... "Amy, I want you to make this cookie, peanutbutter with chocolate, caramel and macadamia nuts." Of course, I would have made anything for him, so I wrote that down to be the first thing I made when he was able to eat again.
Sadly, that turned out to be when he was transferred to the hospice facility and all of the dietary restrictions of the cancer hospital were lifted. I created a recipe for the cookie Dad dreamed up, baked several dozen, named it the DanHerbert Cookie and took them to hospice for Dad and all his family to taste. He approved, ate more than a few cookies and was excited that I was able to make the cookie he thought up. He had one critique though, they needed to be softer. I adapted the recipe to yield a softer cookie and the next time he tried one, it was exactly what he wanted.
The cookies were such at hit that I contemplated putting a patent on the recipe and keeping it to myself. I changed my mind on the day I baked twelve dozen DanHerbert cookies to take to Dad's funeral. I decided that as long as anyone who made these cookies called them DanHerberts and thought of my Dad while they made and ate them, I'd share the recipe with anyone who wanted it. So here it is.
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The recipe below will make approximately four dozen cookies. The pictures are from a triple batch I made for my dad's memorial service.
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| Gathering wet ingredients |
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| Dad said "caramel" so I said "Milk Duds" but caramel baking chips will work, too. |
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| Quatering Milk Duds for a more uniform "chip" size. |
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| Lots of sweets! |
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Instead of sifting the dry ingredients, I use a round whisk to get out any lumps. It's easier and less messy. |
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| Try the completed dough, my Dad thought it was delicious! |
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I found that smaller cookies stay softer so I use a 1 1/2 T cookie scoop . |
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| Fresh from the oven! |
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| Remove from cookie sheet to countertop to cool. Leave the cookies on the paper for about 10 minutes and use a spatula to remove to be sure the caramel doesn't stick. |
DANHERBERT COOKIES
1 cup soft butter
1 cup peanutbutter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt
2 1/2 cups any combination of the following: 1/4'd milkduds, heath bar crumbles, macadamia nuts, milk chocolate chips, semi sweet chocolate chips, peanutbutter chips
Cream together butter, pb and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, careful not to overmix. By hand, stir in candy, nuts and chips. Bake at 325 degrees for 11 minutes on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
