Things I’ve Learned

When I was a little girl my mother showed me much of what I use today in my kitchen. One of my first lessons was there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. One day I was in school and I offered to bring cookies the next day. My mother was excited and was already to help me mix up a batch. But I told her that “I” had offered and I wanted to make them. She was happy that I was willing to take the responsibility on myself and so she offered no further help. I had made cookies plenty of times with her so I was positive in my eight year-old sort of way that I would get it right. Well, wouldn’t you know, it turned out to be harder than I had thought? Instead of cute little cookies I ended up with melted pancakes. My mother explained that the next time I should refrigerate my dough. It makes your cookies keep their shape better while baking, so they won’t turn into pancakes. An hour should be long enough. The flattening happens when the butter is too warm, so it spreads the dough out before it can be cooked.