Last week I decided it was time to make my foray into cooking. What better way to do so than bake my favorite munchie–chocolate chip cookies. I made a special trip to Albertson’s for supplies: flour, baking soda, eggs, butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, semi-sweet chocolate chips, an electric hand mixer (luckily they sold these), and baking sheets. The only ingredients I already had were salt from my party for the margaritas and granulated sugar for the sangria.
I worked myself into a tizzy when I couldn’t find any baking soda. Now, I want you to recognize how cooking-retarded I truly am. I don’t know what baking soda is. I thought maybe I could find it in the baking section which was where I found the vanilla extract and everything else. Then I panicked and thought maybe baking soda is a type of drink…like club soda. So I looked in the drink aisle with the soda pop and water. I couldn’t find it there. I almost started hyperventilating. I mean, how do people do this? Cut out recipes then run around the grocery store looking for all these ingredients? Granted, people who cook often most likely have these staples at home.
I tried to find an employee to help me, but I couldn’t find anyone. The only employees I could see were the cashiers and I wasn’t about to blurt out, “What is baking soda?” in front of a bunch of city people getting midnight snacks. How embarrassing!
I continued with the rest of my shopping–Draino, refill cartridges for my razor–praying I would eventually bump into someone who could help me find baking soda. Instead, I chanced upon something better. Premade cookie batch that you scoop out and throw into the oven. God was answering my prayers. I returned all my ingredients, but kept the baking sheets, and was on my way home.
It was easy alright. I happily scooped the cookie dough onto the baking sheets, popped them in the oven, and smiled as the smell of freshly-baked cookies permeated my place. After I took them out, I couldn’t wait to pop them in my mouth.
Ummmm…they were ok. Not great. I wouldn’t even say they were good. Just ok. Hmmmm, that’s what I get for taking shortcuts. Better find that baking soda.
Yeah, you can’t cut corners here. The prepackaged cookie dough is always going to taste like crap, regardless of the brand. Stick with the real thing. Follow the Toll House recipe and you can’t go wrong. (But NEVER use margarine. Again, stick with the real thing.)