The Bobbsey Twins

Bobbsey Twins Super-Duper Cookie Caper coverr

#22 The Super-Duper Cookie Caper by Laura Lee Hope (Stratemeyer Syndicate), 1991.

Before I begin, I’d like to acknowledge Sean Hagins, for supplying me with photos of this book! Usually, I take pictures of books myself, but I just couldn’t find a physical copy of this one. Sean is a big fan of the Bobbsey Twins, particularly the New Bobbsey Twins mysteries, and you can see some of his video reviews as well as videos about his photography work on his YouTube channel, SJHFoto. Thanks, Sean!

Freddie decides that he wants to get a new bike, and inspired by the school bake sale, he decides that he’ll make and sell cookies to raise the money. His grandmother makes really delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that everybody loves, so he plans to make and sell them. He persuades his twin, Flossie, to help him by promising her part of the money from the cookie sales. Their parents approve of the plan, and their mother offers to help them because neither of them has much experience with cooking.

When Freddie and Flossie go to sell the cookies in the park, they’re pretty popular. Everyone loves the cookies, and Freddie boasts about his grandmother’s secret recipe. Their last customer is a man who gives them a dollar with some kind of white powder on it, and he doesn’t seem to think much of the cookies. Freddie doesn’t care because everyone else likes them, and they’re making money.

There are some complications to selling cookies. First, Flossie has a sweet tooth, and Freddie has to keep stopping her from eating their stock herself. Then, a boy at school, Brian, announces that he’s going to set up a rival business in the park, selling brownies. Freddie gets the idea of offering broken cookies as free samples and selling orders of cookies door-to-door.

Nan and Bert start helping with the cookie-baking, but things don’t always go well in the kitchen. There are times when they forget ingredients or let the cookies burn. Then, the children realize that the card with the recipe on it is missing! They search the kitchen and realize that there is a chocolate smudge on the kitchen window. It looks like someone reached through the window and stole the recipe!

There are a few logical suspects. It could be Brian, hoping to cash in on the success of the cookie-selling. It could be their old nemesis, local bully Danny Rugg, who stole their free samples earlier and generally likes to mess things up for the Bobbseys. Then again, there is the mysterious man who keeps showing up at the park. The Bobbsey Twins find out that he owns his own bakery. To find out who the recipe thief is, Freddie decides to invent a trap. He tells everyone that his grandmother has given him her other secret recipe for super-duper cookies that’s even better than the first one. Who will take the bait?

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

My Reaction

Sean and I were discussing earlier how later books in the New Bobbsey Twins series tended to focus more on the younger set of twins than the older Bobbsey twins and seem to involve lower-stakes mysteries. Earlier books in the series involved definite crimes, police matters, and strange phenomena. A stolen cookie recipe feels like much lower stakes. However, I thought this one was well-done for what it was. There are some definite suspects, enough to sow some doubt about who the recipe thief is. The actual thief is someone I suspected but not necessarily the most obvious suspect, and the thief’s motives do make logical sense, although I’m not sure (spoiler) any real adult would seriously consider that kind of business model. It sounds more like something a kid might do, and that’s partly what allows readers to doubt whether it’s a child or adult who took the recipe.

There is also a punchline to the story. There was one thing that I had guessed early on about the grandmother’s “secret recipe.” It’s not as “secret” as the kids think it is. I guessed that because, when I was a kid, one of my grandmothers always baked chocolate chip cookies. Those cookies were one of the highlights of going to her house. When we were little, my brother and I liked them so much that we guessed that she must have been a baker before she retired. When we were older, we found out that she’d actually been a bookkeeper and that her cookie recipe was just the Toll House recipe from the chocolate chip package. She made two versions, with and without nuts from the pecan tree in her backyard, but it was still the Toll House recipe. It’s a similar situation with the Bobbsey Twins’ grandmother’s secret recipe. The only thing the grandmother changed was the cooking time. Everyone just thought that the cookies were special because her grandchildren thought they were, and they convinced other people. Few things are as special as homemade cookies from your grandmother!

8 thoughts on “The Super-Duper Cookie Caper”

  1. Jess, I decided to give the book an unbiased examination, and you are correct-it IS well written for what it is. I think that if I grew up with these low-stake mysteries, and the books got higher staked as I became a teen, I would like them better. But it was the reverse-I was introduced to the Bobbsey Twins with the Secret of Pirates Cove (#2 of the Wanderer series) in 1980, and enjoyed reading them since. But in 1991 when this came out, I was already in my mid-teens (just about to get my drivers license), and the fact that the mysteries went from high-stakes to low-stakes was a bad choice for me-I think that’s why these left such a bad taste in my mouth).

    I think I said this before, but most series (like Trixie Belden) stayed the same, and others, (like the Three Investigators (which went to the Crimebusters series with the boys being in their late teens and driving (as opposed to early teens in the regular series)), and McGurk went from low-stakes to higher stakes so I was able to continue reading both into the late 80s/early 90s (or mid-90s in the case of McGurk where I was already 21 when the last book came out) without feeling too let down (although I will admit, I didn’t like the foray into fantasy that the McGurk series randomly did with 2 of its books)

    Sorry, I guess I am analyzing my feelings rather than this book. Again, it IS well-written. Honestly, I’d have to really think about it if I were to choose a New Bobbsey Twins book that I think wasn’t written well, I just think the books suddenly went about 3 to 5 years younger for a target audience. Maybe that was intentional though-the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew were geared for the young adult set, while Bobbseys were always known as children’s fare.

    I’m curious-you’ve read all 30 of these books before, right? Which do you think is the worst, and best? (And if not, which is your worst and best of the ones you’ve reviewed thus far?)

    As far as New Bobbsey Twins, my absolute favourites have to be #5 or #9 with #2 and #3 being strong contenders. Worst…hmmm…I have to think… probably #19, #25 or #29. And even those aren’t horrible

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    1. Oh, I think it’s okay to go into feelings about the books because part of a review includes the feelings and personal experiences. I think you’re probably right that they decided to skew the Bobbsey Twins younger to aim for the younger audiences not covered by their other series.

      My memories of the series are a little muddled now because it’s been so many years since I read them. Now that I’ve started rereading the stories, bits and pieces are coming back to me. I don’t remember having a least favorite book in the series when I was a kid, but I remember rereading #3 The Clue that Flew Away multiple times because I thought it was exciting with Flossie getting to appear in the movie as a double and the hot air balloon.

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  3. I should have mentioned this when you did the Secret of Sleepaway Camp, but if you like themes, I think another New Bobbsey Twins book you should consider is the “Clue at Casper Creek”-it’s a summer theme (in my mind)

    Also, the Wanderer “Dune Buggy Mystery” and also the “Secret in Pirate’s Cove”. The adventure takes place in Bermuda, and was my introduction to the series (way back in 1980). There are a few more summer themed books like Mystery in the Mississippi. I also want to bring your attention to the Trixie Belden series-I know it is supposed to be for girls, but I loved that series! There are some summer themed books there too.

    Actually, I have a question-there is a youtuber that does book reviews on commission. Would you be interested in that? There are quite a few books from my childhood that I would really like you to read, and I am willing to pay for the privilege of doing so. You have my email address (I have to input it with each comment), so email me, and maybe we can make arrangements

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    1. I don’t really have the time to take commissions right now because I have a major project to prepare for this fall, but I’ll keep it in mind. I have thought it would be fun to try making YouTube videos sometime, but I’ve got to get past my current projects first.

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      2. I might be teaching classes about historic games this fall. I’m still prepping the classes, but I don’t know if they’ll make or not. Last time, nobody signed up, but I’ve made some changes, so hopefully, I’ll get some more attention this time.

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  4. Hello.
    This article on the Bobbsey Twins is a delightful read! The story of Freddie and Flossie’s cookie-selling adventure is heartwarming, and the mystery of the stolen recipe keeps readers engaged. The punchline about the “secret recipe” is a charming touch. It reminds us of the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren. Overall, a lovely article!
    Thanks for sharing.

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