Making Cookies

It’s time to make Christmas cookies, and Ellen was tired of the usual recipes, so today we tried two new ones. The first is a date-nut bar, actually an old recipe from her mom, but one she’d never made. I helped out by chopping the dates, which were already in pieces, but too large.

Ellen is not fond of baking, but likes the tradition of Christmas cookies, so it’s always a mixed bag for her. The dough seemed rather candy-like, but into the pan it went, and into the oven.

It came out looking good, but when it cooled and we cut it, the pieces were very sticky and hard to get out, not very bar-like. Probably should have had more flour, and perhaps a longer baking time. “I hate baking,” Ellen said. They taste fine, though.

The second recipe, from a Mrs. Fields cookbook, was macaroons with chocolate chips. This involved making meringue from egg whites, something we hardly ever do. It worked okay this time. Folding it into the rest of the ingredients perhaps did not go so well, so they’re a little heavy. Ellen put them on the baking pans and into the oven.

They came out looking good, but stuck like glue to the pans. I pried them off with a metal spatula much as you might remove old, dried paint from window glass, or gum from your shoe. “I hate baking,” Ellen repeated. Again, they aren’t beautiful, but they taste fine.

Next week we’ll make a few more kinds. I can almost guarantee that it will go better, as it will be recipes we’ve made often. I can also guarantee that Ellen will continue to hate baking!