hello dolly cookies

we went to see dolly parton in concert in london on monday evening (you know,it's ok to be jealous, really, its ok...). i thought i'd died and gone to heaven. what a wonderful evening this was. seriously... never have i been to a concert where people screamed & cheered louder than this one. i knew dolly was a wonderful woman - but what great fun is she! witty and smart and funny and just a cheerful bundle of joy. who - as the english guardian wonderfully wrote: can play any instrument, as long as its coated in six inches of glitter. and when she said she'd love us so much, she would love to take us all home, i was ready to pack my bags and go with her. the woman is tiny. her waist probably has the radius of my wrist and she has tiny, tiny little feet and tiny, tiny short legs, but still she once said: "my weakness have always been food and men - in that order". i remembered i had this fun little book at home, called "smoky mountain memories - stories from the hearts of the parton family", written by her sister willadeene parton. apart from some funny pictures of dolly, her dog, her rooster, her cow and that famous "coat of many colours", there are a few recipes the parton family liked to cook. easy peasy meals like a chilli, a banana pudding or a jam cake. inexpensive too, you might remember she has about 100 brothers and sisters and they were so poor, they didnt even have such a thing as electricity! i am still totally dollified, singing "two doors down" and "islands in the stream" (isnt it just the best song ever?) over and over again and decided to bake the "hello dolly cookies". because they are named after her - i just had to put some pink icing on top of them!



RECIPE
110g butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
120g flour
100g sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon baking soda

in a mixing bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. add the cinnamon and nutmeg to the flour. add about half of the flour to the butter mixture along with the sugar, brown sugar, egg, vanilla and baking soda. beat until thoroughly combined. beat in the remaining flour. drop by rounded teaspoons about 5 cm apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. bake at 190 c° for 8 to 10 minutes until the edges are golden. cool the cookies on the cookie sheet for 1 minute, then remove and cool on a wire rack. when cooled, decorate with some icing (made of icing sugar, lemon juice & a drop of red food colouring). makes about 24 cookies.

"WHEREVER I LAY MY HAIR - THAT'S MY HOME" dolly parton