BLUE RIBBON FAIR COOKIES, ADAPTED

Last Wednesday, on my way home from Morehead City, I ran into an intense storm system and wound up in a ditch filled with water. My car was totaled because of the flooding, but I was unhurt. I'm currently driving a rental car, waiting for the insurance company to settle our claim. So this week, it's dessert all week. That makes sense, right?

Anne Overeboe, a County Fair Judge, produced this recipe, but I'm not sure if her cookies won a prize of if this is what she thinks it takes to win a prize. Whatever....these are some good cookies. They're not quite as chewy as I'd like, but they are slightly crispy with soft centers and a delicate crumb, nicely browned, not overly sweet, but sweet enough, with a hint of orange (my addition).

I added nuts though, because I do prefer nuts in my CCC. I also added creme de cacao, subbed some Stevia for part of the sugar and subbed Smart Balance 50/50 butter blend for the butter.

The chocolate I used contributed to the richness of this cookie -- a combination of Nestle Chocolatier 62% Cacao Bittersweet chocolate chips; Ghirdadelli Intense Dark Citrus Sunset 60% cacao bar; and Hershey's Special Dark chocolate chips. The orange undertones in the Ghiradelli bar came through nicely without overpowering the cookie.

For nuts, I used a combo of toasted walnuts and pecans and salted Brazil nuts from a can of mixed nuts. The brazil nuts, when chopped, resemble macadamia nuts in appearance and flavor.

Usually, I like to mix cookies by hand -- this avoids overheating the butter which contributes to a flat cookie. But I decided to make the full recipe, and thought it was just too much batter to mix by hand. I carefully mixed this with my KA mixer, keeping it on low and not overmixing -- the cookies did not deflate after they cooled.

Blue Ribbon Fair Cookies

Adapted from Anne Overboe

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: 3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup low-protein flour (such as White Lily all-purpose or cake flour)

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1-1/4 cups sugar (I used 1/2 cup sugar + 4-1/2 tsp. Stevia)

1-1/4 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed

1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter (I used Smart Balance 50/50 butter blend)

2 large eggs

1 Tbsp. creme de cacao or other liqueur of choice

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2-3/4 cups dark chocolate chips or chunks, or combo (see my notes above)

1-1/4 cups toasted nuts of choice (my addition, omit if you don't like nuts)

Heat oven to 375F. Line baking sheets with parchment. Whisk flours well before measuring, then spoon lightly into measuring cup. In medium bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, soda and salt together till combined; set aside.

In large bowl, combine sugars and SB on low speed of mixer till smooth, about 1 minute. Add eggs, liqueur and vanilla and continue to beat on low till eggs are incorporated. Scrape bowl well. Add flour mixture and mix on low speed just till barely combined. Stir in chocolate and nuts using mixer or spatula by hand. Using a 2" diameter ice-cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets 2" apart.

Do not push balls down -- leave them as they come out of the scoop, nice and rounded and high.

Bake 12-14 minutes, or till cookies are light golden brown. Do not overbake. (Mine took 12 minutes, and I used a toothpick inserted in center to tell me if they were done.) They won't puff up in the oven; instead, they'll kind of melt down.

Cool cookies in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to finish cooling. (This is supposed to help make them chewy, but they're not chewy.) This recipe is supposed to make 40 cookies, but I got 24 (3-1/2") cookies. I probably used more dough for each cookie, but I do like mine nicely big and fat -- make yours the way you like them. Either way, everyone is loving these. And when I eat one, I momentarily forget all about last week's disaster and the fact that I lost the car I loved (3-year old Honda Accord with 5,500 miles).