Week 37: Cheerios Cookies

This week I chose to bake cheerios cookies.  I polled Dan and the kids about which type of cookie they wanted this week, and they chose this recipe.  This cookie has a lot of ingredients, but most of them are staples in our house so it was not an issue.  I downloaded this recipe last summer, and for the life of me I cannot relocate the website that I got it from.  So I am including a link to a recipe that is similar: http://baking.food.com/recipe/cheerios-cookies-95021.  To make the cookies the way I did you'll need to make a few substitutions.  First I didn't use peanut butter, brown sugar, or baking powder...as my recipe didn't call for it.  Instead I used 1 1/2 cups white sugar.  Also, I substituted white chocolate chips (the same amount).  Additionally,  I added 1/2 cup coconut, 1/2 cup raisins, and used  1 1/2 cups multigrain cheerios and 1 1/2 cups chocolate cheerios.  The resulting cookies are delicious and I would definitely bake them again.

In our house cheerios are a breakfast staple.  The kids love honey nut cheerios, chocolate cheerios and fruity cheerios.  Dan and I are partial to multigrain cheerios.  Growing up I didn't eat cheerios very often, but when my children were little we never left the house without a ziplock bag full of them.  I can't tell you how many times my kids sat in the stroller occupied by a little bag of cheerios.  As long as I had cheerios, a few books, a sippy cup, and their favorite blanket, I could shop for hours. I have a few things that automatically take me back to my childrens' "babyhoods", and cheerios are definitely on the list.

In addition to reminding me of my kids' early eating years, cheerios always remind me of  Dan's paternal grandparents, John and Katie Sutherland (see picture on the left).  They always had cheerios.  I know this not because I ate breakfast at their home, but because Dan's Grandpa John always told us about serving cheerios for breakfast. Dan's Grandma Katie had problems with her feet and knees, so Grandpa John took over with a lot of the chores...including meal preparation.  When he served cheerios for breakfast, he would literally count the number of cheerios he put in Grandma Katie's bowl...he counted the raisins too.  He had it down to a science.  Like most people who grew up during the Great Depression, they did not waste anything.  So instead of wasting cheerios, he'd only serve the exact amount she'd eat. ☺

I wrote about my fondness for Dan's maternal Grandmother Mary Leeson in blog number 20. I had the same fondness for Dan's paternal grandparents.  They were always very kind and loving toward me, and made me feel comfortable right away.  Grandpa John even nicknamed me.  My Mom was an avid bestower of nicknames, so right away I took it as a good sign that Grandpa John nicknamed me.  He always called me "Tina."  Why? I don't know. ☺  My full name is Christine, not Christina so "Tina" was never a nickname that I used. I liked it though, and it always cracked me up when Grandpa John referred to me as "Tina."


Christmas Eve 2002.

In addition to giving me a new nickname, Grandpa John and Grandma Katie were always very generous to me.  Every Christmas they'd buy me gifts. I could count on new gloves, new socks, and a huge tin of popcorn. They'd get me other things too, but I could rely on the gloves, socks, and especially the popcorn.  I love love love popcorn, and Grandpa John always bought me a huge tin of it.  It had three different flavors: regular buttered popcorn, cheesy popcorn, and caramel popcorn.  We would keep the tin in our living room, and Dan and I would snack from it while we watched tv.  It would take us a few weeks to eat it, and we loved every last kernel!  After the kids came along, the popcorn disappeared quicker, and they learned to look forward to receiving it at Christmas as well.  In addition to the popcorn tin, the kids would get a package of "Huggy Bears."  They are similar to "Teddy Grahams" and Grandpa John always bought them for the kids.  Victoria loved them so much, that she'd squeal with delight in anticipation of receiving them from "Papa John and Nana Katie" once we got to their house.  One Christmas Eve when Victoria was about 3 years old, Grandpa John and Grandma Katie bought her a stuffed panda bear.  Dan and I were less than thrilled about another stuffed animal, but Victoria fell in love with it.  To this day Victoria loves "Panda", and sleeps with him in her bed every night. (See picture below.) I believe that he may actually be a "magic panda",  because he can calm her worries and relieve her fears. Victoria loves pandas bears and collects panda themed accessories and jewelry, and it all started with the panda from Papa John and Nana Katie.

Speaking of Christmas, Grandpa John took great pride in decorating his home for the holidays. We always visited Grandpa John and Grandma Katie on or around Christmas Eve.  As soon as we walked in and took our coats off, we'd be given the grand tour of the decorations. The highlight of the tour was always the Christmas tree. (See picture below of Victoria in front of said tree.)





Grandpa John handpicked each ornament he hung, and most of the ornaments had a story.I always loved listening to his stories, and he was more than happy to tell them. Truthfully, Grandpa John had a lot of stories...not just stories about Christmas decorations. He loved to tell us about trips he and Grandma Katie had taken.  I especially loved the stories about their visit to the United Kingdom. In addition to his wonderful and lengthy stories, Grandpa John loved to work around the house.  So much so that when Dan and I purchased our first home in 1997, he drove 45 minutes and spent the weekend helping us paint.  By the way he was 79. ☺

Papa John laying on the floor coloring with Victoria.

  In addition to their home in Garden City, they had a cottage in Caseville.  It was right across the channel from Dan's maternal grandparents Russ and Mary Leeson.  When we went up north in the summer, we were fortunate enough to be able to visit both sets of Dan's Grandparents in the same weekend. Sadly, both Nana Katie and Papa John have passed away.  We were fortunate enough that they were able to meet and form relationships with both of our children.  Victoria and Ryan both remember Papa John and Nana Katie and we talk about them often. I have a long list of things that I loved about them.  I also have a list of things that remind me of them.  That list includes popcorn sold in a tin, black thinsulate gloves, huggy bears, panda bears, and of course cheerios. ♥ 





Four generations of Sutherland men.





Nana Katie and Papa John meeting
 Ryan for the 1st time.