Auntie Crae's Plantation Chews

Auntie Crae's Plantation Chews

They look quite innocent, don't they? They look very plain and uninteresting just sitting there on the plate. Trust me, they are anything but plain and uninteresting; they are, in a word, amazing.

This is probably my favorite cookie of all time. I have loved them ever since that first crispy, chewy, caramel-y bite decades ago at Auntie Crae's Bakery in Churchill Square. The owner, Janet Kelly, later moved the store to Water Street here in St. John's but sadly for so many folks, closed the business upon her retirement in 2010. 

Fast forward to last week when a reader emailed me asking if I had a copy of the recipe for Plantation Chews which she had heard was being given out freely in the final days of the bakery's operation. Excited at the prospect of being able to make batches of my favorite cookie at home, I posed the question on our Facebook page and within minutes, it seemed, the recipe was in my inbox! Spouse whipped up this batch a couple of days later and they were perfect; exactly as I remember them as created by the very capable bakers at Auntie Crae's. I think I ate 6 in the first hour! I don't ever remember being so happy to receive any recipe. You just have to try these.

Here is the recipe exactly as I received it.

Plantation Chews

• ½ cup margarine
• 2 ¼ cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 cups cornflakes, NOT crushed
• 1 ¼ cups sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 ½ cups walnut crumbs

Cream margarine and sugar until very fluffy.

Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated.

Add dry ingredients and beat on high speed in

mixer for 12 - 14 minutes. Scrape bowl often.

Scoop out cookies (a little smaller than a ping

pong ball) and place on cookie sheet that is

either Teflon coated or lined with parchment

paper. Parchment (silicone) paper is your best

choice. Do not grease pan.

Flatten cookies with finger tips that are slightly

moistened. The moisture will prevent your

fingers from sticking to dough as you flatten the

cookie dough.

Bake at about 350 F for 6 minutes. Rotate pan

(front to back) to distribute heat and then bake a

further 6 minutes. Remove from oven and

leave on pan until stiff enough to handle. They

will be very soft when they first come out of the

oven.

You may need to alter the baking time and

temperature of your oven if you do not get a

satisfactory result. No two ovens bake the

same, even if you have clones.