A stand mixer is best for this recipe, but a hand mixer will work. You’ll also need two baking sheets, cooling racks, and a large bowl.

Preheat the oven to 350F/180C

Butter the baking sheets. If you have a third, butter that one, too. I save butter wrappers for this, as noted above.

Unwrap the butter and put it either in the bowl of the stand mixer or if using a handheld mixer, a large bowl.

Put the sugars in a two-cup measuring cup and empty it into the mixing bowl, over the butter.

Using the same measuring cup, measure the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, and cocoa powder into the bowl.

Now crack the eggs into the same cup. Measure the extracts into the eggs.

The chips will have to go into another cup.

This is how you bake in a drought without a dishwasher.

Using the mixer’s paddle attachment, blend the butter with the sugars on low speed, moving to medium speed. You’ll need to stop and scrape down the mixing bowl and remove dough from the paddle. It’s annoying. Do this for about five minutes, until the sugar and butter are blended and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, blending, being sure to scrape around the bottom of the mixing bowl. The batter may appear curdled. Don’t worry: it’ll come together when the flour is added.

Add the flour gradually AT LOW SPEED. Otherwise, you will flour your kitchen. We all do this once, and the clean-up is not amusing.

Once the flour is added, the batter should resemble chocolate frosting.

Add the chips. If your mixer is like mine, it will complain. I hold the bowl at the sides, where I cannot be injured. Be careful.

Once the chips are blended, remove the bowl from the mixer. You can now chill the batter in the fridge for a few days or freeze it up to three months.

Using a one-tablespoon measure, scoop the batter on to the baking sheet, giving each cookie some room. They don’t spread much; I can get eight cookies on a large baking sheet.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, depending on your oven, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking time. Cookies take 10 minutes in my oven. They’re done when you see browning along the bottom and the tops no longer appear damp.

Remove cookies to cooling racks with metal spatula. Allow to cool before storing. They keep well at room temperature up to two weeks or freeze well up to three months.

Notes:

The original recipe calls for two teaspoons vanilla extract. You can use this, or try chocolate, almond, or coffee extracts. If you use almond, be sure your eaters don’t have nut allergies.

I’ve baked these cookies using a range of cocoa powder. Less gives a more butterscotch flavor. The choice is yours.

You can also add nuts. I don’t, as I am usually baking for homeless people and have no way of knowing who has nut allergies.