Cookies for lunch or après school enjoyment

Does anyone make school lunches anymore? One hears so much about the cafeterias, that perhaps sack lunches are no longer viable — regardless, after school’s a good time to enjoy a couple of cookies and a glass of milk before suppertime. Whatever your situation, you’ll love these offerings. Enjoy!

The pumpkins are coming on, and this perennial favorite cookie — decades old — is still one of the best ones out there! (You don’t have to wait for a real pumpkin, however, canned suits nicely!)

Pumpkin Cookies With

Ginger-Cream Frosting

2½ cups flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

½ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup butter, softened

1 large egg

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup raisins (optional)

1 cup walnuts, finely chopped

Set oven to 350 degrees. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside. In mixer bowl, combine and mix the sugars, then add the butter and beat well. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix again.

Add egg, pumpkin and vanilla. Mix until light and fluffy. At low speed, blend in flour mixture. Stir in raisins and nuts just until evenly distributed.

Drop by tablespoonsful onto ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake 20-24 minutes or till tester in center of cookie comes out clean. Cool and frost.

Ginger Cream cheese Frosting

3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

4 tablespoons butter, room temperature

Scant ¼ teaspoon ground ginger

2 to 2½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons (or more) water

Beat cream cheese, butter and ginger together until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners’ sugar and thin with water to proper spreading consistency. Spread frosting on each cookie

Carrot/Zucchini Cookies

1 cup butter

¾ cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon EACH salt, cinnamon

½ cup EACH grated carrots and zucchini

½ cup chopped walnuts

Set oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar, then beat to fluffy consistency; add egg and vanilla.

Mix dry ingredients and beat into mixture. Stir in carrots, zucchini and nuts.

Drop on greased cookie sheets and bake about 20 minutes. Remove with spatula from sheet onto narrow racks or waxed paper to cool.

Frost if you wish after cooling.

Tip: Add 1/3 cup raisins to batter if you wish, (or ½ cup chocolate chips for a surprise treat).

I ran this next recipe in last year’s column, and have had some requests for a repeat. Everyone loves these!

No-Bake Sweet/Salty

Triple chocolate drops

8 ounces white chocolate chips

1 cup (6 ounces) milk chocolate morsels

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate morsels

1 ½ cups chopped pecans or walnuts

1 ½ cups broken pretzel sticks

Melt first 3 ingredients carefully in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. When completely melted and smooth, remove from heat and immediately stir in nuts and pretzels.

Drop by heaping tablespoonsful onto lightly oiled waxed paper. Chill in refrigerator at least 1 hour. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 month. Makes about 1 dozen.

Valle Novak writes the Country Chef and Weekend Gardener columns for the Daily Bee. She can be reached at bcdailybee@bonnercountydailybee.com or by phone at 208-265-4688.