cocoa drop cookies
Since they have been declared to have achieved their ideal, I present these simple drop cookies:
1/2 cup butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 eggs, 4 tablespoons milk, 2 cups flour, 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 cup cocoa, [I read the recipe and chose to omit 1/2 cup nuts, 1/2 cup raisins or dates], 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
That's the whole recipe. In the era when the book was written, it would have been a waste of precious space to provide additional information known by any cook.
Every child who spends a decent amount of time in the kitchen knows you ensure the fat is at room temperature, cream it with the sugar, add the eggs and any other liquid ingredients, sift in the dry ingredients, add nuts or other solids, then drop the dough on to a cookie sheet from a spoon with an appropriate amount of space for spreading. The cookies are baked in a moderate oven (350 to 375 Fahrenheit) until they're done (8 to 12 minutes). These made 1 cookie short of 4 dozen at 375/10.
Hm, yes. My experience was correct in choosing to leave the nuts and raisins out. Pleasantly cakey without being dry, with a nice little bit of crust on top. Good with milk or tea but doesn't need either for enjoyment.