I have been very curious about this recipe since I first saw it in Grandma’s cookbook. It took me a minute to figure out what she meant by “foundation” in the title and then realized that these are a sort of “base” cookie recipe to which many different variations can be added. They are a soft and chewy cookie in the end, regardless of the variation. I tried nearly all of Grandma’s suggested variations and I think I would have to say the coconut version is my favourite. The sprinkles version was a hit with the kids.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Earth balance
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• + the variation of your choice (see below)

Variations:

• Add 1-2 tsp ground ginger
• Add 3-4 oz semi-sweet chocolate and 1/3 cup chopped nuts
• Roll dough into balls and roll each into a mixture of ½ cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon
• Roll dough into balls and roll in sprinkles
• Add ¾ cup raisins
• Add ¾ cup shredded coconut

Yield: 2 dozen large cookies or 3 dozen small ones

Preheat oven to 350^o.

Cream Earth balance and sugar, then add the eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Blend the dry ingredients into the creamed sugar. Include any variation ingredients at this point. Drop by teaspoon and bake 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned at the edges.