Blend in the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix it well, until the dough is smooth and is a uniform color.

Mix in the pineapple, golden raisins, and walnuts.

Blend in the flour, about a rounded cupful at a time. You don’t have to be exact—the point is to add the flour in three parts so that you don’t try to mix it all in at once. If you add the whole 31/2 cups at once and then try to beat it, it’ll spill out all over your counter and floor! (The next time you come into The Cookie Jar, you can ask me how I know this.)

Remove the bowl from your mixer. You’ll have to do this next part by hand. Coconut and shredded carrots tend to bunch up inside your beaters and will cause a real mess. (You can ask me how I know this, too!)

Stir in the coconut. When it’s incorporated, stir in the shredded carrots. Mix well to make sure everything is blended.

When the dough is all mixed, it will be thick and rather sticky, much like very thick cake batter. That’s why you have to chill it. It would be impossible to work with without “hardening” it in the refrigerator.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap, and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. (Overnight is fine, too.)

When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

Prepare your cookie sheets by lining them with parchment paper (the best method for this cookie) or spraying them with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.

Use two spoons to drop the dough onto the cookie sheet, 12 cookies to a standard-size cookie sheet. Each cookie should contain about 2 Tablespoons of dough.

Wet your fingers and shape the dough into rounds if needed. This won’t make them taste any different, but they’ll look more uniform.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 12 minutes. Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet for a minute, and then remove them to wire racks to cool. When they’ve cooled, frost them with Terry’s Cream Cheese Frosting.

Yield: approximately 10 dozen yummy cookies

TERRY’S CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature

1 stick (1/2 cup, 1/4 pound) butter at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1-pound box of confectioner’s (powdered) sugar (3 ½ to 4 cups)

Mix the cream cheese and butter together until they’re smooth and blended to a uniform color.

Mix in the vanilla.

Blend in confectioner’s sugar in one-cup increments until the resulting frosting is smooth and creamy.

Hannah’s Note: This frosting is a win-win proposition. If it turns out to be too thick to spread, mix in a few drops of milk or cream to thin it. If it turns out to be too thin, mix in a little more confectioner’s sugar to thicken it.

Chapter Thirteen