I celebrate most holidays with my "adopted" family, the "unique, extended, blended" crew of my close friend, Karen. Between them, she and her husband Jeff have 7 biological children ranging in age from 26 to 44 . . . and she only just turned 60. Anyway, between the bio kids, a newly adopted 9 year old, spouses, partners, significant others, grandkids, step kids, former foster kids who may drop in (they've taken in 1800 foster kids over the past 20 years), a neighbor or two, dogs, cats, ferrets, a horse, etc., we can be quite the crowd, which makes any holiday an experience like no other. Gift buying at Christmas can get expensive, so every year we decide what to do that would be fun, interesting, and challenging. And inexpensive. OK, cheap. This year it is . . .

A COOKIE SWAP!!

Now most folks who know me well realize that I'm not exactly familiar with kitchens. Hell, if it weren't for the coffee maker and microwave, I'd never have any reason to go into the damn room. But, an assignment is an assignment. So after going shopping not only for cookie ingredients but also for cookie sheets and cooling racks, I did what I needed to and baked last night. From scratch. For the first time. Ever. Among the things I learned:

Flour seems to have some sort of explosive quality. Using it while wearing a black sweater is NOT a good idea.

Apparently, it's important to read the recipe carefully BEFORE starting, otherwise you find that you've made enough batter for 108 cookies when you were sort of hoping for just a couple of dozen.

Raw cookie dough tastes really good. The first 8 times or so. After that, it just kinda sits in your stomach and makes you want to

If you take a cookie sheet out of the oven to cool, yet leave it on the stove top, it stays hot. VERY HOT!

It's a good idea to check to see if you have a mixer BEFORE you start.

2 cups of this, 3 cups of that, a teaspoon here and a tablespoon there can quickly overwhelm what you THOUGHT was a pretty darn big bowl.

Kitchen towels and pot holders are NOT as interchangeable as one might think. Towels burn when they come in contact with the oven heating element.

Firemen like cookies. (OK, I made that up)

The +1 gets quite impressed when coming home to find fresh cookies AND the mess cleaned up. Tho it was tempting to leave the entire contents of the fridge and cabinets covered with flour, baking soda, Crisco, butter, coconut, etc. etc. etc, every bowl, spoon, and other implement of culinary "art" (I use the term loosely) piled up in the sink, and for me to be on the couch.

Anyway, the bottom line is I'm pretty sure I'm going back to a family gift certificate next year!

 

Easier solution: Call Betty to the rescue. No one will guess the cookies are from a mix. At least that's what Bass tells me.

 

dude do what lainey does!!!



no need to re-invent the wheel

 

oh ya - you can freezer raw cookie dough too

 

If it were only that easy. At Thanksgiving, Karen gave each of us a cookie jar, with 2 recipes included and instructions for the swap. I'm pretty sure one of mine was something like Bamboo Soy Green Tea cookies or something. I scrapped that right quick. But HOMEMADE was a firm rule. And NO chocolate chip cookies.

About a week later I was at her house when she came back from grocery shopping. And I watched her unpack 2 GIANT tubs of PRE-MADE chocolate chip cookie dough!! I asked her what THAT was all about. She told me it was none of my business, and to go home and start baking.

I guess it pays to be the one who makes the rules!

 

You've been had my friend!

So did she serve any chocolate chip cookies?

I won't go to a cookie swap unless they WILL serve chocolate chip cookies.

 

The swap is tonight. And you better believe that I'm going home with some chocolate chip ones!!