{"id":1088,"date":"2025-12-04T10:12:23","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T10:12:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=1088"},"modified":"2025-12-04T10:12:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T10:12:23","slug":"the-cookie-recipe-that-made-a-98-year-old-grandma-an-iowa-legend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=1088","title":{"rendered":"The Cookie Recipe That Made a 98-Year-Old Grandma An Iowa Legend"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Mildred Ricke is best known for her perfect attendance at her ball games and recitals, affinity for pink nail polish\u2014and famous cookies.\n<\/p>\n

In fact, the 98-year-old\u2019s cookies are so legendary that they made their way from Iowa to Colorado\u2014thanks to Kelli Chiri, one of her nine grandchildren. For five years, Kelli and I worked together at a Denver\u2013based travel marketing company, where she\u2019d regularly bring plastic containers filled with her grandma’s cookies to share with her co-workers.\n<\/p>\n

Even years after I last bit into one, I still couldn’t stop thinking about the treats, soft sugar cookies stuffed with a nutty-chocolatey mini Snickers bars. I tried making a couple recipes (called Snickers Surprises or Santa Surprises) I found online in hopes of replicating them, but none compared to the original cookies Kelli brought to the office.\n<\/p>\n

Grandma Ricke Cookies.<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

Patricia Kaowthumrong<\/p>\n

<\/span>
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When I finally reached out to ask about the recipe, she told me that I wasn\u2019t the only one who craved the cookies made by her grandmother, lovingly known as Gram.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWith nine grandkids and nine great grandkids, Gram never misses a recital, concert, or a ball game, and she never shows up empty handed,\u201d Kelli says. \u201cAs such, our teammates, coaches, parents, opponents came to know to ask if we had \u2018Grandma Ricke Cookies\u2019 to share and I always did. To this day, they still ask and we still deliver.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Mildred Ricke.<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

Kelly Chiri<\/p>\n

<\/span>
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While Gram\u2019s arthritis has slowed down how often she makes her famous cookies\u2014specifically because they require unwrapping what she calls \u201cpesky Snickers\u201d\u2014Kelli says she still makes other varieties and always has a supply of them to give away.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIn true Grandma fashion, she keeps her pantry freezer stocked with Grandma Ricke Cookies and does not let you walk out the door without taking a Tupperware full any time you visit,\u201d according to Kelli.\n<\/p>\n

She asked her to share the cookie recipe with us\u2014and she agreed. Just be sure to raise a glass of milk to Gram while you’re enjoying them.\n<\/p>\n

Mildred Ricke, and her granddaughter, Kelly Chiri.<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

Kelly Chiri<\/p>\n

<\/span>
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

Grandma Ricke’s Cookie Recipe\u00a0 <\/span> <\/h2>\n

Gram \u201cdoesn\u2019t recall\u201d where she got the cookie recipe, which originally called for Oleo (A.K.A. margarine). But she prefers to use butter.\n<\/p>\n

Ingredients <\/span> <\/h3>\n
    \n
  • 1 cup margarine or butter, softened<\/li>\n
  • 1\/4 cup white sugar<\/li>\n
  • 3\/4 cup brown sugar<\/li>\n
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla<\/li>\n
  • 1 4-serving package instant vanilla pudding<\/li>\n
  • 2 eggs<\/li>\n
  • 2 1\/4 cup flour<\/li>\n
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda<\/li>\n
  • Mini Snickers squares, unwrapped<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Directions <\/span> <\/h3>\n
      \n
    1. Combine margarine or butter, sugar, vanilla, and pudding. <\/li>\n
    2. Beat until creamy. Add eggs and mix, then add the flour and baking soda. <\/li>\n
    3. Roll the dough into 1.5-inch balls (a little smaller than a golf ball). <\/li>\n
    4. Flatten each one, place a Snickers bar in the center, and form the dough into a ball around the candy. <\/li>\n
    5. Bake them on a cookie sheet in a 350-degree F oven for 12 minutes.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n


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      Mildred Ricke is best known for her perfect attendance at her ball games and recitals, affinity for pink nail polish\u2014and famous cookies. In fact, the 98-year-old\u2019s cookies are so legendary that they made their way from Iowa to Colorado\u2014thanks to Kelli Chiri, one of her nine grandchildren. For five years, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kitchen-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}