Sunday I spent the afternoon baking cookies and other “edibles” with three friends. Edible might be an exaggeration, but I am getting ahead of myself. With a few supplies, my roommate and I headed over to the host’s house to meet the other two ladies we were baking with. Minutes after arrival, I had to drive back to our apartment to grab a few more things. Originally we brought cookie pans, bread pans, Halloween sprinkles, and a hand mixer. I had to go get a mixing bowl, rolling pin, chocolate chips, measuring cups, measuring spoons, and cooking spray. It might have been easier to cook at our place from the get go, but the company was worth the hassle.
Returning to the party, I found the other girls getting into the swing of things without the measuring utensils. I learned that we were also making the cookies and bread healthy by substituting things like apple sauce and yogurt in place of butter, eggs, and frosting. Hmmm. To make matters more interesting, we were baking in a propane oven. Far from an expert cook, I have never baked in anything but an electric oven, yet I suspected that using a different type might impact baking time and temperature. Apparently, I am an old fuddy duddy for believing in timers or worrying about things like temperature because after stuffing the oven with whatever variety of items where currently ready, we just pulled cookies and bread whenever it looked done.
Frosting went on everything from the sugar cookies to the oatmeal-pumpkin cookies and bread. Colors were made and mixed with abandon while sprinkles were added generously. The frosted cookies dripped, which did not entirely make up for the fact that the baked goods themselves were hard as rocks. We had a good time with the runny stuff, but I am not sure if it will ever dry.
When we brought the finished product to the family (or future family) of all the cooks (except me) only one person was brave enough to try a cookie. After a raucous crunch and some brave chewing, she tossed the remainder of the cookie. My roommate and I had thought about sending a care package to a friend in Oregon who has the reputation for eating just about anything. We each revised that plan independently when we learned that the head chef had skipped the baking soda in all recipes. It is an unwritten law that you should not gift people with food you refuse to eat yourself.
From start to finish, a good time was had by all, but I am not sure what we are going to do with our “edibles.”
Returning to the party, I found the other girls getting into the swing of things without the measuring utensils. I learned that we were also making the cookies and bread healthy by substituting things like apple sauce and yogurt in place of butter, eggs, and frosting. Hmmm. To make matters more interesting, we were baking in a propane oven. Far from an expert cook, I have never baked in anything but an electric oven, yet I suspected that using a different type might impact baking time and temperature. Apparently, I am an old fuddy duddy for believing in timers or worrying about things like temperature because after stuffing the oven with whatever variety of items where currently ready, we just pulled cookies and bread whenever it looked done.
Frosting went on everything from the sugar cookies to the oatmeal-pumpkin cookies and bread. Colors were made and mixed with abandon while sprinkles were added generously. The frosted cookies dripped, which did not entirely make up for the fact that the baked goods themselves were hard as rocks. We had a good time with the runny stuff, but I am not sure if it will ever dry.
When we brought the finished product to the family (or future family) of all the cooks (except me) only one person was brave enough to try a cookie. After a raucous crunch and some brave chewing, she tossed the remainder of the cookie. My roommate and I had thought about sending a care package to a friend in Oregon who has the reputation for eating just about anything. We each revised that plan independently when we learned that the head chef had skipped the baking soda in all recipes. It is an unwritten law that you should not gift people with food you refuse to eat yourself.
From start to finish, a good time was had by all, but I am not sure what we are going to do with our “edibles.”
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