The Cookie Monster
“Bruh, what did you do?”
I admit it. I’m many things (check out my About Me page) but I am not a baker. Yes, I’ve made delicious bread, pizza, focaccias, lasagna, and other non-Italian baked foods. But I can’t fathom my lack of skill in baking sweet treats. A few conspiracists (my friends) have said it’s because I don’t “follow recipes” or use “correct ingredients”. I feel like sugar measurements are suggestions, I don't quite understand the difference between baking powder and baking soda, and I don’t think eggs actually need to be room temperature.
So it should be a surprise that sour cream and Greek yogurt- which are perfectly acceptable substitutes for the other-, have been the downfall of many of my baking adventures.
This day, I decided the make brown butter chocolate chip cookies with a couple of friends. It started off very well, the butter browning beautifully and allowing the janky RA kitchen to be filled with a nutty, sweet aroma. I chopped fresh dark chocolate, whisked the eggs, and (belatedly) preheated the oven.
The problems surprisingly started when it got time to bake. My friend kindly advised that I make the scooped cookies smaller, but I wanted the wide, flat shape I’d seen in many baking recipes. That’s not a problem, but the problem was that I didn’t want to use another pan.
The next issue arose when I tried to flip the pan halfway through baking, almost singed my eyebrows off, and dropped the pan in my panic to save my precious hairs. A very resounding CA-SPLAT echoed in the kitchen and I looked down to see the pan had turned the cookie into a cake.
This new cookie cake was still in the pan, so I counted my blessings and popped in right back in the oven. There is more to life than being worried that the cookie edges were touching, so I moved on. My friends decidedly did not. I’ll spare you the embarrassing photos and the vivid memory of them clowning me. All that should be remembered (and valued) is that the cookies (cake) tasted wonderful. This is a win in my books, and should be lauded, especially since I was heavily involved in the baking process.
This experience was the culmination of my half-hearted efforts, strong belief in myself, and the proof of concept that baking doesn’t always need that Midas touch. This was my Frankenstein; my cookie monster.
Looking forward to trying new baking recipes (stay tuned!!), but in the meantime, I will always think fondly of my cookie monster.
