BLUEBERRY CRUNCH COOKIES Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position. 1 cup melted butter (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) 2 cups white (granulated) sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 2 large eggs, beaten (just whip them up with a fork) 2 1/2 cups flour (no need to sift--pack it down when you measure it) 1 cup dried sweetened blueberries (other dried fruit will also work if you cut it in blueberry-sized pieces) 2 cups GROUND dry oatmeal (measure before grinding) Hannah's 1st Note: Mixing this dough is much easier with an electric mixer, but you can also do it by hand. Melt the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl for 1 minute on HIGH. Add the white sugar and mix it in thoroughly. Add the vanilla, salt, and the baking soda. Mix it in well. When the mixture has cooled to room temperature, stir in the beaten eggs. When they are fully incorporated, add 197 the flour in half-cup increments, stirring after each addition. Mix in the dried blueberries. Prepare your oatmeal. (Use Quaker if you have it--the cardboard canister is useful for all sorts of things.) Measure out two cups and place them in the bowl of a food processor or a blender, chopping with the steel blade until the oatmeal is the consistency of coarse sand. (Just in case you're wondering, the ground oatmeal is the ingredient that makes the cookies crunchy.) Add the ground oatmeal to your bowl, and mix it in thoroughly. The resulting cookie dough will be quite stiff. Roll walnut-sized dough balls with your hands, and place them on a greased cookie sheet, 12 balls to a standard-size sheet. (If the dough is too sticky to roll, place the bowl in the refrigerator for thirty minutes and try again.) Squish the dough balls down a bit with your impeccably clean palm (or a metal spatula if you'd rather). Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown on top. (Mine took 11 minutes.) Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, and then remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 6 to 7 dozen unusual and tasty cookies, depending on cookie size. Hannah's 2nd Note: These cookies freeze well if you stack them on foil (like rolling coins) and roll them, tucking in the ends. Just place the rolls of cookies in a freezer bag,