Hot Summer Reading+recipe

Plagued by religious friction, violent fights and a belief, "the grass is always greener,"my peripatetic parents dragged their five children in search of the next good farm. From upstate New York to the Mississippi Delta, to the hills of Ohio and West Virginia their dreams led us forward to disillusion and defeat. I was the middle child, unwanted from birth and over-looked while growing up. Though all five of us are deeply scarred, sometimes being the least-loved can be your salvation.

Black Raspberry Cookies

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 3 dozen Change Servings

• 1/2 cup butter  
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons milk

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 (10 ounce) jar black raspberry jam

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter with brown sugar and 1/3 cup white sugar. Blend in the vanilla and milk. Mix in the flour and corn starch. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
3. Form the dough into 1 inch balls, and roll in the remaining white sugar. Place on the prepared cookie sheet, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Use your finger or thumb to press straight down into the center of each ball, making a well for the jam. Neatly fill each cookie with half a teaspoon of jam.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 13 to 15 minutes, or until cookies are just beginning to turn golden around the edges. Let cookies cool before eating.