J. F. Lewis - Author at Large - Recipes

Recipes? What are recipes doing on an urban fantasy writer's site?

Members of J's writers' group, Write the Fantastic, have started a tradition of providing cookies to his late-night panels at conventions; just another perk of giving up sleep to meet and greet the author. Lots of people have requested the recipes, so here are some of our favorites. :)

EASY OATMEAL COOKIES

1 Spice Cake Mix (I use Duncan Hines)
2 cups oats (3-minute oatmeal)
2 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
½ cup milk
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 cups raisins
1 cups chopped nuts (more or less)

Mix all ingredients well.  Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet; bake at 350º for about 8 minutes.  Let cool for a few minutes (2-3) on pan, move to cooling rack.

Jeremy’s Variation  (or "What WTF takes to cons"):

1.  Leave out the nuts. (Those things are deadly.)

2.  Add:  an additional cup of oats (for a total of 3 cups oats) and substitute a package of dried apricots, diced, for the raisins.  Soak the diced apricots for about 10 minutes in enough warm water (room temp) to cover.  Drain well.

ALL TOO EASY COOKIES

1 cake mix (any flavor) Some of our favorites include chocolate, strawberry, mint (use white cake mix, green food coloring, and mint flavoring), funfetti, and french vanilla.

1 8 oz tub Cool Whip

1 egg

Combine ingredients and drop by spoonfuls into a bowl of powdered sugar, coat well.  Place on parchment paper covered baking sheet.  Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes.

If you want to add mini chocolate chips, stir them into the dry cake mix. If you like puffy cookies, you can throw in a handful of self-rising flour.

You don't have to do the "drop into powdered sugar" bit; you can just drop them by teaspoonfuls onto the parchment paper and they work just as well.