The Baking Truth

I would love to be that Mom who bakes for her kids. The one who has fresh cookies in the cookie jar. The one who always has fresh treats for anyone who stops by. But the truth is every time I make cookies I decided to make a double batch. And every time I hate it. HATE IT. The dough is all sticky. I don't have cookie ball maker thingy. My hands are all gooey.. and it goes on for hours... and hours.. and hours. Blech. Sadly I am the Mom who buys the frozen dough already in nicely formed balls, and my children are thrilled when I 'make' cookies.

I am always envious of my friends who are the Mom's who can just whip up a batch of cookies like that and it is no problem. I am not like them. Not at all.

I have hope though that things might be turning around. The other day while at Beth's for Cub Scout's she had cookies for the kids. And I ate one.. and it was quite possibly the best chocolate chip cookie I had ever eaten. It was crisp. It was chewy. It wasn't flat. Or hard. It was good. I asked her for the recipe.. it was much better than any chocolate chip cookie that has come out of my kitchen.. from frozen dough or my own attempts. She kindly pulled the paper out of the trash.. thankfully it was on the very top and told me she got the recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I was thrilled and happily brought it home. And then quickly forgot about my desire to make these cookies.

This morning the kids and I were cleaning the house. And I saw the recipe. I told them if they worked hard I would make them cookies. And then I wondered why would I agree to do this after I had already scrubbed my kitchen.. but they worked hard.. and earned their reward. And so I began the cookie making process. And things went well. I didn't get flour everywhere like normal when I double my batch. (I think I am incapable of making a single batch of cookies.) And then it said to use either a 1/4 cup or 1 tablespoon to scoop the cookies, depending on the size. I never ever make big cookies. I am about how many I get to eat. I would rather have 3 small ones than one big one. Strange eh? I never use my measuring spoons, I have tried before, but they are always sticky, messy and I am cursing the spoon amongst other things. It is not a pleasant time at my house. But today I figured I should try the spoon. And it worked. The dough fell right out in a nice round ball. They looked perfect. I keep scooping and it kept working. And my heart was light. My attitude had changed. This was fun. Could making cookies really be this great? Even a double batch has been fun. And I wonder is this what it is normally like? Maybe my kids will get cookies more often? I am sure they would like that.

And thanks to this recipe and Beth for showing me the light my family now has a full cookie jar with over five dozen delicious cookies with the best chocolate chips I can find. The carmel chocolate swirls by Nestle. I was proud I didn't just eat a bag of them like normal I made them into cookies. And maybe now I will make cookies more than four times a year.