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And I'm off vacationing again!

After a week of relaxing at home it was time to get the grandkiddos back to their house. It had been a glorious three week visit but their other grandparents would be arriving and were demanding equal time!

We flew to California and our first stop was a visit to Bake Sale Betty's! I've told friends her establishment reminds me of The Soup Nazi only friendly! Customers line up outside the bakery hoping their favorite cookie (molasses) is still there....
When ordering you better have a second choice ready, FAST. You pay and then move aside to wait fir the order to be made -DON'T slow down the process! This is accomplished very politely, but QUICKLY, there is a line waiting. I'll never forget the time the line was so long that Betty came out and gave each of us a cookie for our trouble - she completely won me over!

Ginger Spice Cookies (makes about two dozen)
from Bon Appétit, March 2000
- 2 cups flour
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup candied ginger, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (or more butter)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup molasses
- Additional sugar (about 1/4 cup) for rolling dough
Mix the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt together in a medium sized bowl. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and shortening, then add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Blend in the egg and molasses. Add the flour mixture in two parts, beating until combined, then stir in the candied ginger. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour (preferably more).

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper (you can butter them if you don't have parchment). Put the additional sugar (use white) in a bowl and use your hands to roll dough into balls of about 1-2 inches in diameter.
Roll the balls in the sugar to coat them and place on the baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes or until the surfaces of the cookies have cracked. Let them cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to cooling racks.  
(A close facsimile I'm told)
 
Then it was off to sunny Northern California to meet The Oregon Family for a few days. We had a cabin for a few days near Mount Shasta.
Then it was time to say good-bye to the California Dreamin' crew and travel on with the Oregon Family. We took the long way home and stopped at beautiful Crater Lake.
It was great to visit them in their new town and home. Nice to know they are in a great place and very happy. Thanks for a lovely visit from start to finish!

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