Summer is Here and I'm Making Cookies!

Yesterday marked the official beginning of summer.  I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone this.  Facebook was abuzz with status updates talking about it, it was on the news, it was everywhere you turned.  I'm happy it's summer too, but not nearly as happy as I was back when I was a kid.  That stands to reason, of course.  Now I don't have 12 weeks off from school to do nothing except for sleep in and swim all day.  Now, it turns out, I'm the adult in charge of putting sunscreen on the kids in my classroom everyday.  I supervise their play on the swings, on the climbers and in the water tables.  Through their eyes, I can remember the joy of summer.

Seeing this joy helps me appreciate it more.  Because now that I'm an adult, summer has just become too hot for me.  I don't like the heat or humidity.  Sometimes I feel like the middle of summer is just as bad as the middle of winter because, either way, I'm trapped inside the house.  I've come to love the more temperate times of the year...spring and fall.  To me, there is now nothing better than when a long, hot summer comes to a close and a crispness fills the air.  I can return to the kitchen and make stews, soups, applesauces and other fall favorites.  The sliding door can remain open without allowing hot steams of air to come into the house.  And, in spring, there's nothing better than seeing those first flower buds poke through patches of snow.  And being able to unzip your winter coat for the first time in months when running errands.  And actually going running without possible collapse from heat exhaustion.  

I do favor spring and fall much more than summer or winter.  But I'm going to try to savor summer this year too, instead of spending another beautiful day indoors and impatiently longing for fall. 

It might be 91 degrees out today (and this is up North, so I can only imagine what it is down South) and firing up the oven is the last thing I want to do.  But that doesn't mean I can't make cookies!!!

These cookies are a family favorite from my dad.  My dad was born and bred in the South.  He lived much of his life in Dallas, then went to college in Nashville.  He returned to Texas for some grad school and his first job, and then moved up North.  As a result, I grew up eating a lot of Texas and Southern-style cooking.  Each year when my grandma would visit from Dallas for Christmas, she'd bring homemade tamales with her, a gift from her next door neighbors.  I'm pretty sure I'm the only kid I know whose grandma brought tamales!  Growing up, we also ate lots of spicy foods, and to this day I crave spicy things.  Jalapenos?  Those are almost like baby food to me.  Bring them on, I say!  Cobblers, pecan pies, you name it...they were a fixture growing up in our house.

Oh, and Fritos.  Apparently it's a common thing in the South to create recipes using these corn chips.  The headquarters of Frito-Lay are in Texas, so I'm guessing that's where this tradition comes from.  I've had Frito Pie growing up (which is now enjoying a renaissance of sorts due to recipes from people like The Pioneer Woman....though we never, ever had our Frito Pie in a bag.  Always layered and baked.  Maybe hers is an Oklahoma variation?)  But my favorite Frito recipe is Frito Cookies.

These cookies consist of 2 ingredients:  A Bag of Fritos and a bag of Chocolate Chips.  The result is divine, especially for anyone who craves the exquisite combination of salty and sweet. And they're perfect to make in the summer because they don't require any baking and they can be stored in the freezer.

The Unbelievably Simple Recipe is as Follows:

Frito Cookies

1 Regular Sized Bag of Fritos (crushed, not pulverized)

1 Bag of Milk Chocolate Chips

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring each time, until melted.  Pour the melted chocolate chips over the crushed Fritos.  Use a spoon to cover and coat each frito.  Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto a cookie sheet.  Place the cookie sheets in the freezer to set the cookies, about an hour.

At this point, they are ready to eat!  You can keep them out at room temperature at this point, or you can store them in the refrigerator.  My husband and I opt to keep them in the freezer...they are just soooo good super cold.

Happy Summer!