The Stranger's Sarsaparilla Snaps

These cookies are in honor of one of our favorite Big Lebowski characters, The Stranger. The Stranger, played by Sam Elliot, likes to tip back one of them good sarsaparillas like Sioux City.

One of The Stranger's best lines is later repeated by The Dude. "Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you." But The Stranger pronounces it, "Sometimes you eat the bar, and sometimes the bar eats you."  For years I thought that was the line and it was hinting something about the character and why he prefers soda pop over something alcoholic. 

If you view a movie often enough, you start seeing all sorts of connections and layers and complexities.  With Lebowski there are a lot of Ins and a lot of Outs.

Sarsaparilla Snaps
Makes 5 dozen 2-inch cookies

6 tablespoons butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
16 ounces sarsaparilla or root beer, reduced to 1/4 cup
2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon root beer extract
2 cups flour (sift before measuring)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ginger

1. Cream butter and sugar; add egg, reduced sarsaparilla, vinegar, vanilla, and extract.

2. Sift together flour, soda, and ginger.

3. Mix ingredients to form dough.

4. Roll balls, about one tablespoon each. Toss balls in sugar and place 1-inch apart on baking sheet. Bake in preheated 325 degree oven about 12 minutes. Cool on rack.