Dotti’s cookies

By Caitlin McMullen Edited by Jake Watson

Dotti is a 92 year-old woman who loves to cook sweet treats. For the past two years she has been coming into my workplace every Saturday, making me try some of her inventions or her traditional recipes, which have been passed on for generations. Some of these recipes shared have been within her family for 70 years.

She told me that she hasn’t shared her recipes with anyone before, so I’m privileged not just to eat them, but to find out how she does it. Dotti doesn’t go by exact measurements or steps; it comes naturally to her, something that I aspire to at her age. Going strong for a 92 year-old, she loves having friends over, insists on making me a cake every time I go over (even though she is cooking something else for me), and has two chickens which she hasn’t named.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
You will need:
Whole-wheat flour 2 teaspoons of baking powder Teaspoon of baking soda Salt Butter Brown Sugar Sugar 2 Eggs 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract 100g of chocolate
Recipe:
1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.
2. Use baking paper to put on your trays. “This is an important step. If you don’t do this, your cookies will stick to the tray; it’s not fun to clean at all.”
3. Add three cups of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and a tiny bit of salt into a mixing bowl.
4. Put the butter sugar into your beater and mix it.
5. Add the eggs and the vanilla extract into the beater. “I’m using the hens’ eggs today, so this recipe should taste very organic”
6. Add the flour mixture into the beater, then the chocolate, broken into bits. “If you want it to be extra chocolatey, add an extra bit of chocolate. I like to do this sometimes.”
7. Separate your cookies and place them into your baking trays. “I find it easier to use your hands to roll the cookie dough into balls on the trays”
8. Now, put them in the oven for about 15 minutes. “I can usually tell when they are ready from the scent. But just keep an eye on them, because nobody wants a burnt cookie” “Let them cool down for a bit, as the chocolate bits can get quite hot when they are melted. Enjoy them as a snack, like I do, or they are a good gift. I make them for people’s birthdays; homemade things are more appreciated these days, I find”