10-Cup Cookies -- The Batch That Started Everything

Jolene Pietrowski arrived Wednesday. Thirty-something, short hair, a notebook that was a leather-bound thing that looked more like a diary than a reporter's pad, and a camera bag over her shoulder. She came to the house first. I had cleaned. I had made coffee. I had set out a plate of oatmeal raisin cookies Tyler had helped me bake the night before. She sat at the kitchen table and said, "Brenda, this is going to be two days. Ask me anything too." That surprised me. I did not know a journalist could say that. I said, "Have you ever driven a truck?" She laughed and said, "No. I grew up in Lincoln. I work at the World-Herald because my husband got a job in Omaha." I said, "Tell me about your husband." She did. Five minutes. Then we got to work.

We talked for four hours Wednesday. About the road, about Grand Island, about Larry, about Darla. I did not cry. I almost cried twice but I did not cry. Jolene cried once, quietly, when I told her about Amber naming — wait, she has not named a daughter yet, Amber is 17 and has not named a daughter yet, that is a future event, I got confused — she cried once, quietly, when I told her about Justin getting his first touchdown in Kearney. She said, "You raised those children." I said, "Dave raised those children." She said, "Both of you raised those children." She was correct.

Thursday I took her on the truck — a Lincoln run, a shortish one, she rode shotgun in the passenger seat of my Peterbilt with her notebook on her lap and her phone recording and she asked me things I had never been asked. About my relationship to silence. About the moment I knew I wanted the diner. (Yes, Jolene got the diner. I had not told anyone about the diner. I told Jolene. I said, "I want to open a diner on I-80 when I retire. I am going to call it Darla's." She wrote it down. She said, "Is that for the piece?" I said, "Yes." It is going to be in the newspaper. It is going to be real.) About my mother. About the specific loneliness of having seen a lot of America from a cab and never having been anywhere you might call tourism. We got back to the truck yard at five p.m. She thanked me. She hugged me. She said, "You are exactly what I hoped you would be."

Friday she drove back to Omaha. The piece runs March 6. I am terrified and excited and I do not want to talk about it. I made a stew Sunday night — beef, carrots, potatoes, parsnips — and Dave ate it and said, "She is going to write a good piece." I said, "How do you know?" He said, "She was kind." I said, "Is that all it takes?" He said, "Mostly, yeah." I think he might be right. I think kindness is more powerful than I give it credit for.

The plate of cookies Tyler and I baked the night before Jolene arrived ended up meaning more than I expected — she reached for one before we even started talking, and somehow that made the whole thing feel less like an interview and more like two people sitting at a kitchen table. This is the recipe we used: a big, generous, everything-in-the-bowl batch that Tyler calls the “one-cup-of-everything” cookies, though we always lean heavier on the oats and raisins. If you’re baking for company you’re nervous about, or for a kid who wants to help, this is the one to reach for.

10-Cup Cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 12 minutes | Total Time: 32 minutes | Servings: 48 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 cup crispy rice cereal (such as Rice Krispies)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease them.
2. Cream butter and sugars. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract until fully combined.
4. Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually add the dry mixture to the butter mixture, stirring until just incorporated.
5. Fold in the mix-ins. Stir in the oats, raisins, coconut, nuts, and crispy rice cereal. The dough will be thick and hearty. Mix until everything is evenly distributed.
6. Portion the dough. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Gently flatten each ball slightly with your palm or the back of a spoon.
7. Bake. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are golden and the centers look just set. Do not overbake — they firm up as they cool.
8. Cool. Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 148 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 20g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 82mg