December 8

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. First, toast the pecans at 350 degrees F so that they can cool to room temperature while you prepare the rest of the recipe.I toast whole pecans on a baking sheet for 10-12 minutes tossing them at the half way point. I then cool them and break each one into 2-4 pieces by hand. This little extra effort ensures nice big crunchy bits of pecan in every bite.

3. Sift together the flour, baking soda and spices and set aside.

4. Cream together the butter and brown sugar for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy.

5. Beat in the egg for another minute or so.

6. Blend in the molasses and vinegar. (The vinegar often occurs in old recipes as a way to boost eh rising action of baking soda.)

7. Fold in the dry ingredients by hand and when almost incorporated fold in the dates, raisins and pecans.

8. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the parchment lined cookie sheets about 2 1/2 inches apart.

9. Bake for 14 minutes and let the cookies cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

10. Store in airtight containers. These cookies will freeze very well.

1. Marinade the ribs in the Guinness for 3 hours.

2. Get the weber ready using the snake method:
https://perthbbqschool.com/2020/02/19/how-to-the-snake-method/
I would only run the snake to just over half of the circumference of the weber. I always run a double height snake.

4. Put wood chips on the first 20 cm of the snake, that will burn.

5. Remove the ribs from the marinade and use rub to season them on both sides. The amount depends on how heavy you like your seasoning. I usually go moderate.
Hold on to the Guinness used for the marinade as you will need it later.

6. Put one BBQ tray on the base of the weber & fill with some water (see pic in BBQ school link). This is to keep the ribs moist while smoking.

7. Light the snake from the end where the wood chips are sprinkled. I usually use fire starters on some charcoal externally before adding it to the weber. This is to prevent any odors affecting the smoking stage.

7a. Place the ribs in the weber on the grill grate for smoking. Do not place them directly over the snake.

8. Place the lid of weber. I keep all vents bottom & top open to max. Make sure the top vent is on the opposite side to where the snake is burning. (see pic in BBQ school link).

9. Smoke for 1 hour. Add more wood chips during his time if necessary.

10. Remove ribs and place in 2 BBQ trays with about ½ cm Guinness in the bottom of the trays. If necessary, cut the ribs in two to make them fit. Cover each tray with tin foil and wrap the foil round the edges of the tray & seal.

11. Remove the water tray from the base of the Weber.

12. Place the sealed trays in the weber on the grill grate, but not anywhere directly over the burning snake. I usually stack them on the weber grill as shown:

(Note: The trays going on the Weber grill MUST be sealed as described in this step – this picture just illustrates stacking)

13. Place lib on Weber & cook for 3 hours.

14. Remove trays from grill. Remove ribs from the trays and baste all the ribs with your favorite BBQ sauce.

15. Pile the rest of the snake on the lit snake heat beads and disperse them when they all lit. You may need to add more heat beads at this stage if more heat is required.

16. Char the ribs on grill grate. Just be careful that the heat beads are not too hot as the ribs may burn. Char them with the Weber lid off all the time.

17. Remove ribs when sufficiently charred on each side and serve with coleslaw, fries, potato salad etc.
You can try different wood chips, rubs & beers but I stick to old faithful above 😊

My potato salad recipe is next!