Here's a variation of the Texas & Chocolate sheet cakes: the cinnamon makes it "Mexican". I found this in the Houston Chronicle in the early '80s & have made it since, & always get raves for it (though some people think it is brownies because it's so thin.) Great for a crowd potluck. This recipe is so easy - I can make & frost it in 50 minutes. I don't even clean the saucepan from the cake melting - just leave it for the frosting. I have always used the unsweetened chocolate -haven't tried the cocoa. Notice that the cake ingredients don't need to be sifted. It's even better the second day - the flavors have time to mellow. MEXICAN CHOCOLATE CAKE 1 stick (1/2 c.) butter 1/2 c. vegetable oil 2 squares unsweetened chocolate OR 4 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa 1 c. water 2 c. unsifted all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 3/4 c. sugar 1/2 c. sour milk (place 1/2 tsp. vinegar in 1/2 c. milk) 2 eggs, beaten 3/4 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter, oil, chocolate and water in a saucepan and heat until chocolate is melted. Combine flour, baking soda, sugar, milk, eggs, cinnamon and vanilla in large bowl; then combine with first mixture. Pour into a greased 12x18-inch cake pan (I use a 12x15-inch cushionaire-type jelly roll pan). Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until cake tests done. Bake on middle rack. Five minutes before cake is done, prepare: MEXICAN CHOCOLATE ICING: 1 stick butter 2 squares unsweetened chocolate 6 Tbsp. milk 1 (1 lb.) pkg. confectioners' sugar, sifted 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1/2 c. chopped pecans Combine butter, chocolate and milk in a saucepan and heat until bubbles form around the edge. Remove from heat, add confectioners' sugar, vanilla and pecans; beat. Ice cake while still warm. Frosting is not stiff.

I found a Frosted Pepparkakor recipe that sounded good (I don;t remember the source - got it googling) and decided to give them a try. They are excellent! The recipe suggests making them really thin and heart shaped, then piping a design of whote royal icing on top. Beautiful and tasty - what more could you want from a cookie! Here is the recipe if anyone is interested.... Alexa ********************************************************** Frosted Pepparkakor They can be cut into a variety of shapes, but the heart is the most traditional. Piped white icing adds a festive touch. Cookie Ingredients: 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 cup LAND O LAKES® Butter, softened 1/2 cup light molasses 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I omitted since I do not like nutmeg) Icing Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar 1 tablespoon meringue powder 2 tablespoons warm water 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1. Combine brown sugar, butter and molasses in large mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed (1 to 2 minutes). Reduce speed to low. Add flour, salt, baking soda and spices; beat until well mixed (1 to 2 minutes). Cover; refrigerate until firm (at least 1 hour). 2. Heat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, one-half at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/16-inch thickness. Cut with 2 to 2 1/2 inch heart-shaped cutter. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until set. Cool completely. 3. Meanwhile, combine all icing ingredients in small mixer bowl. Beat at low speed until moistened. Increase speed to medium. Beat, scraping bowl often, until stiff and glossy (2 to 4 minutes). If too stiff, add additional warm water. Decorate cooled cookies with icing, as desired. Makes 6 dozen cookies.

Here is a recipe that seems to fit the bill: I may make some this weekend. 2 cups, unsalted butter (at room temperature) 1 cup, granulated sugar 1 cup, lightly packed brown sugar 1/4 cup, pumpkin purée 2 large eggs 1 tsp vanilla 2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp ginger 1/8 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp all-spice 5 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp salt Instructions Cream the butter and 2 sugars together in the bowl of an electric mixer on low to medium speed. (Use the paddle attachment). Mix until thoroughly incorporated – for about one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula and mix again for a few seconds more. Over mixing the butter and sugar in this step will cause too much air to be incorporated into the dough. If you’d like a light and fluffy cookie, that’s ideal, however the dough will spread more during baking; not ideal if you’d like the cookie to hold its shape. Add pumpkin purée and eggs while slowly mixing. Add vanilla extract and mix. Scrape down the bowl with your spatula at least once and mix briefly again. Sift your dry ingredients together. (Flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, all-spice and salt. I do not use baking powder in my cut-out cookies). Add all of the flour mixture to the bowl. Place a large tea towel or two small tea towels between the edge of the bowl and the electric mixer so that the flour won’t escape. Mix on low speed for 3o seconds. Remove the tea towels and observe the dough mixing; when it clumps around the paddle attachment it’s ready. It’s also important at this stage not to over mix the dough (the glutens in the flour develop and the dough can become tough). Roll the dough out between 2 large pieces of parchment paper. Place on a baking sheet and into the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour. Roll out the dough further if you need to, and cut out cookie shapes. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Re-roll scraps and repeat. Put cookie dough shapes back into the fridge for 10 minutes to 1 hour to chill again. They will then hold their shape better when baked. Preheat your oven to 350°F or 176°C. Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes or until the edges become golden brown. The baking time will depend on the size of your cookie. Let cookies cool to room temperature and decorate!

I found the following online, FWIW. My niece used to work at an extremely busy TJ’s in San Francisco. She said her training focused very heavily on customer service. The length of training might depend on store location. New Trader Joe’s employees don’t rush to start working right away, but get at least a day’s worth of training from introductory videos and one-on-one sessions with managers, or “mates.” As well as going over the basics of treating customers well, they reportedly also cover small but crucial skills like properly bagging groceries. Store managers are expected to go even further by attending TJ University, which runs two-day classes focused on leadership and team building skills that can apply in running the store and beyond. Even beyond their initial hiring or promotion, employees still stay informed about Trader Joe’s latest offerings. Before (and hopefully after) the current pandemic, stores held regular tasting panels for crew members to sample new food and wine products before they reached the shelves, all the better to answer customers’ questions and advise their shopping. “They don’t want us to recommend new products just for the sake of it,” says the Seattle-area employee. “They want us to actually try it, and if we like it, we can say that confidently, but if we don’t like it, they want us to be honest.”