This weekend we lose an hour as daylight saving time begins again. Yes, it’s a pain changing the clocks and getting used to the time change but I remember when the United States tried to stay on daylight saving time all year long. In the early 1970s the United States was facing an energy crisis so Congress passed a law on December 14, 1973, to make Daylight Saving Time permanent year-round, but just for two years as an experiment. President Nixon signed the bill the next day. They thought more sunlight in the evening would save energy. But America hated going to school and work in the dark, especially in the winter time. It also didn’t reduce energy consumption. While 79 percent of Americans approved of the change in December 1973, approval dropped to 42 percent by March 1974 according to History.com. By August, as the Watergate scandal caused the Nixon administration to crumble, the experiment came to an end. Just seven days after Nixon resigned the full Congress passed a bill that would restore standard time on October 27, 1973. President Ford signed it on October 5.
I was in the 3rd grade in Michigan when this happened. Since 1967, Michigan was on year-round Standard Time. In 1972, they voted to start daylight saving time and put most of the state into the Eastern Time Zone instead of the Central Time Zone. Daylight saving time in a Michigan winter, mixed with daylong grey skies and cold temperatures made going to school in the dark for a little extra daylight at the end of the day senseless. We wanted extra sunlight at night in the spring and summer when you can be outside and enjoy it. Of course, Michigan had year-round school then too so I went to school 45 days and then was off 15 all year long. Glad we moved in the fall of 1974 to California.
This year as we move the clocks forward and lose an hour in the morning, here’s a recipe for breakfast that may help you get over the first few weeks of DST.
Cookies for breakfast (You’re welcome!). As children, most of us asked at some point to have cookies for breakfast only to be denied by our parents. We needed to eat a balanced breakfast, which generally included cereal, milk and fruit. As teens, most of us had cookies for breakfast when our parents weren’t looking. As an adult, I have been known to have cookies with my coffee in the morning. These breakfast cookies provide a handheld satisfying filling meal that you can round out with fresh fruit for a great start to your day no matter how old you are. Pack them into individual bags and grab one on the way out the door in the morning.
Jumbo Breakfast Cookies
2 cups white sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup butter or margarine
½ cup water
2 tablespoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 1/12 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cup raisins
6 cups toasted oat cereal rings (like Cheerios®)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°. In a very large bowl, mix together the sugar, peanut butter, butter, water, vanilla, and eggs until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the batter. Mix in the oats and raisins, then carefully stir in the cereal. Drop ½ cupful of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets, spacing cookies about 4 inches apart. Flaten cookies to 1 inch thick. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until cookies are lightly browned at the edges. Let stand on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely. Store at room temperature.
You can substitute chocolate chips or dried cranberries for the raisins or any combination of the three for a twist. Try substituting Rice Krispies for the Cheerios.
P.S. I never claimed they were healthy.