Mildred Ricke is best known for her perfect attendance at her ball games and recitals, affinity for pink nail polish—and famous cookies.
In fact, the 98-year-old’s cookies are so legendary that they made their way from Iowa to Colorado—thanks to Kelli Chiri, one of her nine grandchildren. For five years, Kelli and I worked together at a Denver–based travel marketing company, where she’d regularly bring plastic containers filled with her grandma’s cookies to share with her co-workers.
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.
Patricia Kaowthumrong
When I finally reached out to ask about the recipe, she told me that I wasn’t the only one who craved the cookies made by her grandmother, lovingly known as Gram.
“With nine grandkids and nine great grandkids, Gram never misses a recital, concert, or a ball game, and she never shows up empty handed,” Kelli says. “As such, our teammates, coaches, parents, opponents came to know to ask if we had ‘Grandma Ricke Cookies’ to share and I always did. To this day, they still ask and we still deliver.”
Kelly Chiri
While Gram’s arthritis has slowed down how often she makes her famous cookies—specifically because they require unwrapping what she calls “pesky Snickers”—Kelli says she still makes other varieties and always has a supply of them to give away.
“In 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,” according to Kelli.
She asked her to share the cookie recipe with us—and she agreed. Just be sure to raise a glass of milk to Gram while you’re enjoying them.
Kelly Chiri
Grandma Ricke’s Cookie Recipe
Gram “doesn’t recall” where she got the cookie recipe, which originally called for Oleo (A.K.A. margarine). But she prefers to use butter.
Ingredients
- 1 cup margarine or butter, softened
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 4-serving package instant vanilla pudding
- 2 eggs
- 2 1/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Mini Snickers squares, unwrapped
Directions
- Combine margarine or butter, sugar, vanilla, and pudding.
- Beat until creamy. Add eggs and mix, then add the flour and baking soda.
- Roll the dough into 1.5-inch balls (a little smaller than a golf ball).
- Flatten each one, place a Snickers bar in the center, and form the dough into a ball around the candy.
- Bake them on a cookie sheet in a 350-degree F oven for 12 minutes.