By Cynthia Bowan
You do not have to be on the Internet to know what an "Urban Legend" is. I can remember stories from my teen years about the Lovers Lane Killer, where the killer had a hook for a hand, and attacked young lovers who parked in a certain area. I would like to tell you that because of this
story, my boyfriend (later on and still my husband) and I never parked, but...
Then there was the "Green Man", supposedly a man who had been electrocuted and lived -- but his skin turned green. He was supposed to only leave his house at night to walk the country side. In fact, around where I lived, teenage boys would fill up a couple car loads of guys and go
driving around on summer nights, trying to find the poor Green Man.
And how about those alligators in the sewer or the dead cats in the Chinese Restaurant freezer? The Mall kidnappings? We have all heard those stories.
The Internet has taken the Urban Legend phenomenon, and amplified it beyond belief. The Lovers Lane story, the old alligators, sob stories where the Cancer Society will donate money for each person you pass the story on to, freebies from Walt Disney Jr. (Walt never had a son) and/or Bill Gates
and more flood our e-mail daily.
For those of you who do not know this subject, an urban legend is a story that everyone swears is true, happened to someone they know or a friend of someone's, and is spread from person to person, either by telling, writing or e-mailing.
These stories always have some sort of outlandish base and always happen to someone else. This phenomenon, if you will, is a modern-day folklore. You cannot trace the source; there are frequently several versions, i.e., a man instead of a woman, the name of the place, amount of money and so on.
Food is not sacrosanct nor is it ignored. Many readers today are familiar with the expensive cookie recipe story. In most versions, a woman has lunch somewhere, loves the cookies, asks for the recipe and is told they do not give it away. The waitress says she can have it for
"two-fifty", which of course, turns up on the credit card as $250. They refuse to refund the money, so in order to get even, the woman then proceeds to give the recipe away FOR FREE to everybody she can....
The story has been attributed to Neiman-Marcus stores (who repudiate the entire thing, and then in self defense, created a cookie and give that recipe away - FREE), and also to the Marshall Fields store in Chicago, which then mutated to Mrs. Field's and her cookie company. Another version says a
man loved the cookies, called Mrs. Field's headquarters, and was charged $250. Double Tree hotels have had the same problem, and created their own cookie as well. My research turned up a little-known version, this time set in a "trendy health food" restaurant called "Earthly
Delights" in San Diego. The recipe involved was not the ground oatmeal-chocolate chip cookie, but a dessert called "Chocolate Lump".
But where and how did these stories begin? Well, the cookie recipe revenge is not the first story of its type. The earliest one I turned up seems to date from 30-40 years ago, and began with a $25 chocolate cake. By 1959, some cookbooks had a $50 chocolate cake recipe, which contained lemon
flavoring. From there, it was just a hop, skip and jump to the $100 chocolate cake, and then the famous Red Velvet cake supposedly from the Waldorf Astoria hotel (prices kept going up on this one, until it reached the $250 mark).
Along the way, there also was a broccoli casserole from a country club. In fact, I got the recipe from my friend Francie back in the early 70's, who said she got it from a friend who got it from a country club chef and found a $250 charge on her credit card. But unlike the other versions, this
woman did not want anyone else to have it since she paid for it - and was angry that Francie had shared it with me! I, however, had no problem with sharing it with anyone who asked...my reasons are another story! <g>
Well, however the stories started, and regardless of who should get the credit, we have been the benefactors of some pretty decent recipes. And so, I share them with you now (except the oatmeal one, which everybody has), minus the stories. If you wish to pass them on, please just share the
recipes, and Enjoy! them. CYH - consider yourself hugged! (And do not believe everything you read on the Internet!)
Chocolate
Lumps
2 egg whites
2 T. prune butter (available in health food shops or larger grocery stores)
1/4 c. dark brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 T. cocoa
1/3 c. fat-free buttermilk
1/2 c. pastry flour
1/2 c. wheat bran
1/2 tsp. baking soda
dash cinnamon
dash salt
Frosting:
1 T. fat-free sour cream
3 T. fat-free buttermilk
1 T. dark brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. hazelnut extract (or other favorite flavoring)
dash vanilla extract
dash of agar-agar
Cream egg, butter, sugar, cocoa; stir in buttermilk. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Gradually add into creamed mixture and stir well. Pour into a greased and floured 9" round pan and bake at 350F, for 20-30 minutes.
While the dessert is baking, blend together frosting ingredients; place in the freezer to thicken and set. After baking, cool chocolate lump for 5 minutes . Then frost (it will be thick, like a sauce) and eat warm. You can make this ahead of time, then warm it up in the microwave for about 45
seconds (1 to 1 1/2 minutes more for more than one at a time) to serve. If you make the sauce ahead of time, keep it in the refrigerator.
The recipe I found says that it serves 1, which does not seem feasible (but I have not had the courage to make this yet.)
Red
Velvet Cake
2 1/2 c. sifted flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vinegar (some call for 1 T.)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cocoa (or 2 tsp.)
1 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 sm. bottle red food coloring (some recipes call for 2 bottles) But 2 oz. seems to be the average amount called for.
Sift dry ingredients. Add buttermilk, oil, vinegar, vanilla, eggs and food coloring in that order. Bake in 2 (or 3) layer pans, which have been greased and floured, at 350F, 25-30 minutes. Cool thoroughly and remove from pans.
Icing:
3 T. flour
1 c. milk
1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Cook flour and milk until thick; cool thoroughly. Cream butter and sugar; add vanilla. Combine two mixtures and beat until consistency is that of whipped cream.
OR you can use this one:
Frosting:
1 stick butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chopped pecans
1 box confectioner's sugar (2 1/2 c. plus)
Have butter and cheese at room temperature. Cream well; add sugar and continue beating until creamy. Add vanilla and pecans. Spread between layers and on top of cake.
Double Tree Hotel Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/2 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar, packed
4 eggs
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon juice
3 c. flour
3/4 c. oatmeal (not quick cooking type)
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 c. chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 375F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Place butter in a lg. bowl and cream lightly with electric mixer. Add sugars and beat on med. speed for about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and lemon juice, mix well. In a separate
bowl, stir together flour, oatmeal, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to creamed mixture and stir well to blend. Add chocolate chips and walnuts and stir to combine.
Using a 1/4 c. measure or a 2 oz. ice cream scoop, drop the batter on the parchment-lined pans, leaving 2-3" between each cookie. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from parchment and cool on wire racks.
By Cynthia Bowan
Return to Index
Country Club $250 Broccoli Casserole -
Chocolate Lumps -
The Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie
Double Tree Hotel Chocolate Chip Cookies -
Hundred Dollar Chocolate Cake -
Red Velvet Cake
