Happy Endings Recipe

Come join me for a cuppa.

Come on and take a seat.

Come join me in the coffee nook

for a chat and a sweet treat.


It's one of THOSE days. Soft rain patters outside. A crisp, autumn breeze flows through the window screen. An inspiration to bake strikes. On a day like this, a person appreciates not only the aroma from the oven but also its warmth. I pre-heat the oven, open a kitchen drawer and pull out an old cookbook that I bought as a newlywed.

At the time, my hubby and I lived in a western Twin Cities suburb near the shores of Lake Minnetonka. There in a second-hand shop, I sorted through books finding – what for me has become – a treasure: a 1979 edition of the Minnesota Heritage Cookbook.

Thumbing through its pages, I found many Nordic recipes for main dishes, soups, breads, desserts and more. As a bride married to a groom – who boasted of his Norwegian blood – I felt called to celebrate his family heritage and my adopted one. Smiling, I paid the store cashier a couple dollars and made the book ours.

It proved especially useful the day I sought a cookie recipe with no white sugar – ours had run out. In the book's chapter called "Happy Endings," I found a Norwegian recipe called Brown Sugar Cookies.

Today the book falls open to that well-worn page. I pull out the bowls, spoons and ingredients, but hardly need to consult the recipe. Being a family favorite and a potluck hit, the recipe is one I often make (using whole oatmeal). With the baking done, I put a couple cookies on a plate and freeze the rest.

In the coffee nook, I relax with a treat thinking about my main focus for the upcoming week. With heavenly help via my parents and sister, our house arrangement will flip flop giving the older boys their own bedrooms and providing an office-guest room to accommodate upcoming household needs.

In addition, I'll make final arrangements for our church's Sunday School kickoff on Sept. 16th. As the new superintendent, I'm praying for this year's program reach its full potential and trusting God to meet the necessary provisions – a true leap of faith. I know there is light in the darkness.

The sun sets. The boys go to bed. The rain patters no more. A crisp wind still blows through the window screen. I give thanks for my cuppa. I'm ready for bed. Soon there will be another day, and some other time, for the coffee nook and that Happy Endings Recipe.