butter chips and add them to your cookie dough. If you’re using an electric mixer, mix them in at the slowest speed. You can also take the bowl out of the mixer and stir in the chips by hand.
Measure out one cup of white chocolate chips or vanilla baking chips. Stir those into your dough.
Cover your mixing bowl with a clean towel or a sheet of plastic wrap. Let your cookie dough sit on the counter while you prepare your cookie sheets.
Spray your cookie sheets with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. Alternatively, you can line the cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: If you use the parchment paper, leave a little extra paper at the top and the bottom. That way, when your cookies are baked, you can pull the paper, baked cookies and all, over onto a wire rack to cool.
Drop the cookie dough by rounded teaspoons onto your cookie sheets. You can fit 12 cookies on each standard-size sheet.
Hannah’s 4th Note: Lisa and I use a 2-teaspoon cookie scoop at The Cookie Jar. It’s faster than doing it with a spoon.
Bake your Chips Off The Old Block Cookies at 350°F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are nicely browned. (Mine took 11 minutes.)
Let the cookies cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet and then remove them with a metal spatula.
Transfer the warm baked cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Yield: Approximately 5 dozen crunchy, salty, and sweet cookies. Kids love these cookies.
Hannah’s 5th Note: Be sure to tell your cookie-eating guests that there are peanut butter chips in these cookies.
Chapter Nineteen
Hannah was sitting at the stainless steel work station in the kitchen of The Cookie Jar when there was a soft knock at the door. Since she didn’t recognize the knock, she went to the door and looked through the peephole that Mike and Lonnie had installed. It only took one glance before she hurried to open the door.
“Lynne!” She greeted her guest with a smile. “Let me take your coat.”
“Thanks, Hannah.” Lynne shrugged out of her bright red parka and handed it to Hannah. “I’m so glad I finally found the right coat for this weather! It’s freezing out there.”
“I love your parka,” Hannah said, admiring the lightweight garment as she hung it on a hook. “Did you buy it here?”
“No, your mother warned me that it would be cold when we got here, so I bought it in California. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a parka in California?”
“Not really,” Hannah said, motioning to a stool at the work station. “Sit down and I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”
“That would be great!” Lynne gave a little laugh. “I spent one whole afternoon shopping for that parka and I almost gave up when your mother suggested that I try a sporting goods store! Nobody in California needs a parka unless they go to a ski resort.”
Hannah began to smile. “You’re right, of course. California weather never really gets cold enough for parkas.”
“I’m really glad your mother and Doc Knight have their climate-controlled garden. That’s where we are having tea with Stephanie Bascom this afternoon. That’s another reason I dropped by to see you. Your mother wondered if you could bake something for our tea.”
“What does Mother want to serve?”
“Oh.” Lynne giggled. “What does Stephanie like with her champagne glass of tea?”
“Any kind of appetizer will do just fine. Why don’t I prepare a plate of cookies? That’s good with champagne.”
“Great!” Lynne began to smile. “I really love your cookies.”
“Perfect. I’ll have it ready to go at two-thirty for you. Did you get a rental car from Cyril this morning?”
“I did better than that. I bought a Land Rover, and I love it! I drove it out to KCOW-TV this morning and Chuck Wilson complimented me on my choice.”
“What did you think of Chuck?”
“He’s okay. He looks in the mirror a little too much for me, but a lot of people I’ve worked with are like that. He seems like a nice guy, though. And he promised to help me through my first couple of weeks on-air.”
“First couple of weeks on-air?” Hannah set down her coffee mug and stared at Lynne in confusion. “What do you mean?”
A happy smile crossed Lynne’s face. “I got a job, Hannah! They gave me a tryout and they hired me to anchor the KCOW News with Chuck. We’re going to be co-anchors.”
“How about Dee-Dee Hughes? Did she get fired?”
Lynne shook