Old Faithful

            No, I'm not talking about the geyser at Yellowstone National Park.  I'm talking about my chocolate chip butterscotch chip cookies.  We made these cookies last night for Steve's employees because they won quality for the week again.  (Yay!)  I'm bribing them with cookies for the second time. I wonder if they'll figure it out this time...
           The cookies are Old Faithful because I've been making a version of this recipe since I was 13.  Every time I make these cookies, old memories come flooding back.  The memories flood back in bits and pieces.  Asking my mom what we should do since we're one stick short of butter.  Going to my neighbors to borrow some flour because we're out and I didn't realize until after the eggs and sugar were in the mixing bowl.  Dad asking how long it would be before the cookies would be done after I put the first pan in the oven.  Kat and I accidentally tripling the salt and having to triple the rest of the recipe to fix it.  Counting all of the cookies from the triple batch even as people ate them.  (There were over 100 cookies.  The original recipe is a double batch already.)  Dad coming inside and saying "I smell cookies" and walking to the kitchen to swipe a few.  The last pan of cookies always burning because I would forget to set the timer or let them brown on the pan too long.  Using a small cookie scoop to get the perfect cookie.  Using Mom's Pampered Chef cookie spatula.  Dad suggesting taking the cookies out of the oven a minute sooner and letting them brown on the pan to get soft cookies.  Making a mess in the kitchen because I'm 13.  Leaving a ton of dirty dishes because I'd use a different measuring cup or spoon for each ingredient.  Adding butterscotch chips to my cookies because I saw my cousin Liz do it.  Adding in white chocolate chips just for fun.  Mom showing me how to level off the flour and sugar with a knife to get the right amount.  Kat doing laundry while I'm baking.  Mom explaining that brown sugar needs to be packed into the measuring cup always.  Dad saying "I better taste test a few to make sure they're ok" and me playing along with it.  Maureen's horror at finding out that we dumped all of the ingredients in and mixed them that way.  Discovering that baking when I'm upset makes me feel better.  Making Steve the cookies for his birthday two months into our relationship because I had no idea what else to get him.  Making cookies the first time away from home and discovering that mixing them by hand is a lot harder than using Mom's KitchenAid mixer.
            All of these memories from a single cookie recipe.  I cherish this recipe for what it has given me and what it will give me in years to come because as you can see it's not your average cookie recipe.  It's the key to memories.

Tasty Treasures

             On Saturday Steve bought lunch for his team at work.  His employer provided him with the money because his team had the highest scores for quality for the whole department the previous week.  House of Q was the restaurant Steve decided to use and asked me to deliver the food.  House of Q is a great local restaurant but that's not what I'm writing about today.  As many of you know, to me food is comfort, love, and a stress-reliever.  It's also the carrot that dangles in front of Steve's team so they'll continue to do well.  I made Steve's team cookies this past weekend as a bribe.  I want them to continue to do well because it makes Steve look good.  It took me a week to decide which cookies to make.  Chocolate chip? Or peanut butter?  Or something new?  It went like this for days.  I wanted something that would showcase my skills as a baker.  Something that wouldn't be compared to their mom's/friend's/sister's cookies.  Chocolate chip cookies were out.  There's too many variances with chocolate chip cookies.  Everyone has a family recipe for chocolate chip cookies.  I flipped through the family cook book and finally settled on Caramel Cookies.  This recipe is from my great grandma who was great in the kitchen.  I never have to worry when I see a recipe with her name on it.  I know it will be great because she didn't keep crappy recipes... truth be told, I'm not sure she ever tried any recipes that were crappy.  The caramel cookies had a very delicate flavor as most of her cookies do.  The secret is real maple syrup and brown sugar.  The recipe was very simple which is another thing I love about her recipes.  Great Grandma's recipes don't require a lot of fussing but always produce elegant tasty results.  Her recipes are also famous for her directions.  This recipe said "Chill dough.  Shape into balls. Dip in sugar after dipping in water.  Bake at 350 degrees until light brown."  If you notice, there are no directions to cream butter and brown sugar, etc, etc, etc.  You are supposed to know this.  There is also no time given.  You're supposed to know this as well.  In fact, I'm surprised the temperature is given.  These directions are not a finger wagging at us but rather general family knowledge.  Great Grandma was the second oldest of 12 so she had been baking for the majority of her life and lengthy directions were simply not needed.  Her recipes remind me so much of her which comfort me and make me sad at the same time.  I miss her tremendously and her recipes are all I have (well besides the cookbook...).  I feel her in the kitchen with me when I bake her recipes.  Her recipes are a tangible reminder of her.  A reminder that I don't give out to just anyone.  Special close family friends, perhaps, but not just anyone.  I just can't bring myself to do it.  I know it's silly to hold onto recipes so tightly but I just can't let them go.  I do however share her tasty creations with people.  I called Steve at work to see how my cookies were doing.  He said people loved them.  One of his employees asked him "If I give your wife 20 bucks, will she make me more?"  Um yeah!  For 20 bucks, I'll make whatever cookies you want!   I've been harboring a secret dream to open a bakery for awhile now and this might be my start.  My mind swirled yesterday thinking of ideas, recipes and supplies that I would need.  Steve is going to double check with this guy about how serious he is.  If he's serious and I get more orders, you might be seeing more of my Tasty Treasures in the future.

Sorghum Snaps

Today I decided to make my great grandma's Sorghum Snaps for a pot luck at work. I've made this recipe many times before and wondered if I would have anything interesting to write about. Great Grandma never fails to entertain and there were a few interesting mishaps. The recipe calls for a cup of shortening--Great Grandma used lard but since I don't have lard, I used Crisco. Add in a cup of sugar and we were off to a great start. Grab the jar of sorghum and we've hit a road block. I couldn't get the jar open. Sorghum is a sticky substance similar to molasses but a faster moving substance to be sure. I haven't made this cookies for over a year so I was afraid the jar would be glued shut. If my husband Steve had not been home, this entry might be a lot more interesting as I tried to open the jar. But Steve was home and he got the jar to open slowly and we were back in business again. The two eggs that were supposed to go in were resting on the counter. I grabbed one egg, cracked it on the counter and aimed it at the mixing bowl. The egg decided to shoot the opposite direction and some egg white landed on my bright pink shirt. I'm sure Great Grandma was giggling in heaven as she watched me making the cookies. In went the ginger, cinnamon and salt without a problem. Even the baking soda in boiling water didn't cause me any problems. At this point, the dough was a funky gray color... uh oh. I don't remember the dough looking like this. The only choices I have are to throw out the dough and start over OR continue. I felt adventurous (and realized there probably wasn't enough sorghum to start over) so I continued by adding the flour. The dough gradually came back to a brown color and I felt more confident. A little taste of dough confirmed my decision. It tasted exactly the way it was supposed to. I grabbed a small bowl of sugar, the dough and my pans and went to the table. I rolled the dough into balls and then in the dough. Criss-cross with a fork and pop them in the oven. The cookies were coming along great! I even found a way to prevent from having to roll the cookies in the sugar: put the ball of dough on the sugar and swirl the bowl. Genius! Well, it was until I swirled the bowl to hard and sugar fell onto the table. So here I sit, typing with egg white, sugar and flour on shirt... but the cookies came out great! Maybe I was right when I was ten: the cookies will come out great only if you make a huge mess in the kitchen.