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Note: Make only as many cookie dough balls as you can bake at one time and then cover the dough and return it to the refrigerator. I have a double oven so I prepare 2 sheets of cookies at a time.
Bake your Chips Galore Whippersnapper Cookies at 350 degrees F., for 10 minutes. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, and then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. (This is a lot easier if you line your cookie sheets with parchment paper—then you don’t need to lift the cookies one by one. All you have to do is grab one end of the parchment paper and pull it, cookies and all, onto the wire rack.)
Once the cookies are completely cool, store them between sheets of waxed paper in a cool, dry place. (Your refrigerator is cool, but it’s definitely not dry!)
 
Yield: 3 to 4 dozen soft, chewy cookies, depending on cookie size.
 
Andrea’s 3 rd Note: Tracey and Bethie love these cookies. Bill says the guys down at the Winnetka County Sheriff’s Station love them, too. His deputies are real cookie hounds!
     

Chapter Four
    H annah scrutinized the small group assembled around the workstation. Everyone there looked just as shocked as she was. “But . . . I’m not getting married until after the competition.”
    “Of course you’re not.” Aunt Nancy smiled at her. “It’s just showbiz. And Allen, for one, appreciates showbiz. Didn’t you say that the head judge’s scores count double?”
    “Yes. That’s what it says in the rules.”
    “Then it’s a perfectly good tactic. Just say that since they moved the competition up two weeks, you didn’t have time to practice making your wedding cake and you wanted to try out your idea with them to see what they thought of your creation.”
    “That’s brilliant, Nancy!” Delores exclaimed. “That’ll put the judges in the position of helping Hannah with something other than winning the competition. And everyone wants to help with a wedding, especially since they all might be there.”
    “That makes sense,” Michelle said. “It might give you an edge over the other contestants.”
    “But . . .” Hannah paused and gave a little frown. “Do you think that’s fair?”
    “It’s fair,” Andrea said without hesitation. “All the other contestants will be researching the judges and trying to figure out how to use that information to their advantage. You’ll be able to do that too, but you’ll also have the advantage of getting married. And no one else will have that.” She turned to Aunt Nancy. “We’re just lucky you’re here to advise us.”
    “Thank you.” Aunt Nancy looked pleased as she turned back to Hannah. “So what do you think? Do you want to bake a Double Rainbow Swirl Cake for your wedding?”
    Hannah shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t even thought about that yet. What is a Double Rainbow Swirl Cake?”
    “It’s a recipe I used to bake for special occasions, and it includes one of Allen’s favorite ingredients.” Aunt Nancy paused to smile. The smile was impish with a touch of smug mixed in, and Hannah knew Aunt Nancy had thought of a recipe that might give her another advantage over the other contestants.
    “My Double Rainbow Swirl Cake starts with white cake batter. You can use your favorite white cake recipe. You’ll only bake two layers for the judges, but the cake should be quite heavy so that the layers don’t topple when you stack them up for your actual wedding cake.”
    “And I’m volunteering right now to bake the actual cake for the wedding and decorate it,” Lisa declared.
    “I’ll help you bake it,” Aunt Nancy offered.
    “Thank you,” Hannah said gratefully. If the competition ended the day before she was married, she really wouldn’t have time to bake her own wedding cake.
    “What makes it a Double Rainbow Swirl Cake?” Michelle asked Aunt Nancy.
    “It uses different flavors of Jell-O for the colors.”
    “Jell-O!” Andrea exclaimed, looking intrigued. “I make a poke cake that has two colors