FORT WORTH — In the horse barn just behind Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum, where Birdie Auerbach and her husband, Roger, work as Stock Show security guards, people gather each year just to catch a glance — and, if they're lucky, a taste — of what Birdie has packed away in her Tupperware containers and brown paper bags.

Over the past several years, she has gained a reputation at the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show and Rodeo as the lady who makes good desserts out of odd ingredients.

"I just tell people, 'Don't ask, just eat,' " Roger says. "We have friends who come to the house, and they take me aside and ask, 'What is she fixin' tonight?' I tell 'em, 'Don't ask, just eat.' "

It's not that she cooks objects that crawl or anything like that, but she can take a pot of red beans and turn them into a sweet and delicious pie.

She's proved it more than once.

She can crush a handful of soda crackers, mix them up with a meringue concoction, and have a light, crustless pie in just a few minutes.

People tease her about her recipes, but the Springtown woman takes it all in with a smile and explains: "When you live out in the country, you can't be running to the store every time you want something sweet. You have to make do with what you have."

In what might have been the premier test of her ingenuity, she came up with a fruitcake a couple of years ago that people actually liked. Then, to top that, she made a chocolate-sauerkraut cake. German visitors have told her that sauerkraut was what the original German chocolate cakes were made of, not coconut.

It is one of Roger's favorites.

Sometimes, the people gathering around the Auerbachs' workstation in the horse barn can cause a traffic jam.

And this year, it has been no different. There aren't any cakes or pies this time around. Birdie has gone for the hard stuff: candy.

"I was just sitting at home the other day, and she said, 'Here, try one of these,' " Roger said. "I've learned not to ask, so I popped one in my mouth and it was really good. I finally asked what it was, and she said 'Fritos.' "

Chocolate Fritos, to be exact. Auerbach had mixed some chocolate chips and some crushed Fritos, tossed in some miniature marshmallows, and came away with a new dessert.

Then, she figured, if the chocolate worked so well, why not butterscotch? She made another batch.

No one knows exactly what was on her mind when she then turned her attention to making cookies. There she was, out in the country, longing for some cookies and about all she had to work with was some flour, sugar and cornmeal.

It was enough.

Here are recipes for Auerbach's latest creations:


CORNMEAL COOKIES

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup raisins

Mix butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add egg and beat well. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Drop by teaspoonfuls on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until light brown. Yields 3 dozen.


CHOCOLATE FRITO CANDY

12-ounce package semisweet chocolate bits

1 1/2 cups Fritos, crumbled

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1 cup miniature marshmallows

1/2 cup dark raisins (optional)

Melt chocolate in a pan over boiling water. Remove from heat and stir 3 to 5 minutes until cool. Fold in crumbled Fritos, marshmallows and raisins. Stir gently to coat. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper. Set in a cool place until firm. Yields 30 pieces.

Note: You can substitute butterscotch bits for chocolate.

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