Audi Cookie Bakers share recipes for intermission treats

Cookies made from Linda Dunning's Gingersnap recipe.  Sarah Pearson
Cookies made from Linda Dunning's Gingersnap recipe. Sarah Pearson
Cookies made from Linda Dunning's Gingersnap recipe.  Sarah Pearson
Cookies made from Linda Dunning's Gingersnap recipe. Sarah Pearson
Chocolate chips and peanut butter are melted together for fudge. Sarah Pearson
Chocolate chips and peanut butter are melted together for fudge. Sarah Pearson
Chocolate peanut butter fudge from a recipe by Nancy Fransen. Sarah Pearson
Chocolate peanut butter fudge from a recipe by Nancy Fransen. Sarah Pearson
Chocolate peanut butter fudge from a recipe by Nancy Fransen. Sarah Pearson
Chocolate peanut butter fudge from a recipe by Nancy Fransen. Sarah Pearson

Have you ever attended an event at the Concord City Auditorium and enjoyed a quick treat during intermission? And if you have, you might have wondered where the cookies came from and who are the delightful folks serving them.

The Friends of the Audi Hospitality Committee is made up of a chairwoman and 50 or so bakers and servers, they are the “Famous Cookie Bakers.” Before each event an email goes out to everyone asking for volunteers: eight bakers and four servers. Each baker delivers their box of treats to the Audi before the show. The servers arrive about an hour before the show and set up two tables of cookies and drinks and a big glass jar for donations. Voila! At intermission, the audience has a chance to stretch and have a quick snack. If they are inclined, they can make a small donation.

Those donations are used at the Auditorium for projects like new lighting, seat restoration and new stage curtains.

Each year, before 2020, there have been two seasons, fall and winter. Each season there have been at least 25 shows including the Walker Lecture series, Concord Community Players and Symphony NH, to name a few.

Each of the eight bakers makes a couple dozen cookies, about 200 per show. Multiply that by two seasons of about 25 shows. That’s a minimum of 10,000 cookies.

That’s a lot of cookies and a lot of donations!

For now all shows at the Audi have been put on hold, but the next time you are at the Concord City Auditorium enjoying a treat at intermission you’ll know all about the Famous Cookie Bakers. And until then you can enjoy some recipes submitted by the cookie bakers.

(Joanie McIntire has been the hospitality chairwoman for the Concord City Auditorium for a number of seasons and is a realtor with Coldwell Banker JHampe Associates. She was honored as the Audi’s 2020 Friend of the Year.)

 

Blond Brownies

cup vegetable shortening

1½ cup brown or white sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1½ cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Optional mix-ins

 

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 13×9 pan. Melt shortening in a saucepan, then remove from het. Stir in sugar, eggs and vanilla. (Do the sugar first or you’ll have scrambled eggs in your brownies.) Add the flour, baking powder and mix-ins to mixture and spread in pan. Bake at 350 for a half hour and cool, then cut into squares.

These have a lot going for them. You can mix them in the saucepan, only one pan to wash. They freeze really well.

Mix-ins can be chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, walnuts, chocolate chips and walnuts, raisins, raisins and walnuts, coconut on top, use brown sugar or white.

This was my go-to when I had small children and they would come home and say, “Mommy guess what, bake sale tomorrow.”

Kathy Bailey

Gingersnap Cookies

¾ cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

¼ cup molasses

2 cup flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp each: cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg

 

In a bowl of a mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and molasses; beat well.

Stir dry ingredients together in another bowl and slowly mix into creamed mixture. Mix well.

Chill dough.

Roll into 1¼-inch diameter balls and dip into extra sugar.

Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets or silicone baking mat.

Bake at 375 degrees about 8 to 10 minutes until set and surface cracks.

Cool on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen.

Linda Dunning

Fudge

12 oz of chocolate chips (I prefer milk chocolate)

1 cup of peanut butter (Can be smooth or chunky, Skippy’s smooth natural with honey works well, too)

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

 

Put chocolate and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat in the microwave for about 75 seconds. (When done it looks like chips not melted but with the stirring they will blend in.)

Remove from microwave and stir until blended. Then add entire can of milk into mixture and stir rapidly until all is blended.

Batter will stick together and ready when batter is away from sides of your bowl.

Spread into an ungreased 8 x 8 pan. Cool about 15 minutes in fridge until set.

(Lick spoon)

Cut into whatever size you wish in pan and it’s ready to serve.

You could try it out with different types of chips.

Ghirardelli are the best chips to use. White chips remind one of peanut butter fudge, milk chocolate or dark chocolate is good, too.

Nancy Fransen

 

Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies

cup sugar

1 cup butter, softened

½ tsp almond extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup raspberry jam

Heat oven to 350.

In large bowl combine sugar, butter and almond extract until creamy.

Add flour and mix well.

Cover and chill dough for at least one hour.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.

With thumb, make indentation in center of each cookie (edges may

crack slightly).

Fill each indentation with about ¼ tsp of jam.

Bake for 14 to 18 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let stand 1 minute.

Remove from cookie sheet. Cool completely.

 

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 ½ tsp almond extract

2 to 3 tsp water

Stir together until smooth and drizzle over cooled cookies.

This is a favorite of Concord City Auditorium (Audi) patrons at intermission.

Allwynne Fine,  adapted from a  Land O’Lakes recipe

Lemon Tea Cookies

½ cup butter or margarine

¾ cup sugar

1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel 1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

cup milk

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

 

In a large mixing bowl beat the butter or margarine with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the ¾ cup sugar, lemon peel, baking powder, and baking soda. Beat till combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg, milk, and the 2 teaspoons lemon juice till combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or till edges are lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. Stir together the ¼ cup sugar and the 2 teaspoons lemon juice: brush on cookies. Makes about 48 cookies.

Variation: Citrus Bars

Prepare as above, using lemon, lime, or orange peel and juice. Spread dough evenly in a greased 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Lightly brush with the sugar-juice mixture. Cool on a wire rack. Drizzle 1 recipe Powdered Sugar Icing made with lemon, lime, or orange juice over top. Cut into bars. Makes 60 bars.

Powdered Sugar Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon milk or lemon, lime, or orange juice

In a small bowl. Combined powdered sugar, vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk or juice. Stir in additional milk or juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until icing reaches desired consistency.

Joanna Otis

Author: Joanie Mcintire

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1 Comment

  1. Always delicious cookies at AUDI performance intermissions! Thank you all for volunteering to bake, deliver, and serve during intermission. Three cheers to the “Famous Cookie Bakers” and to Joanie Mcintire for organizing each event!

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