COOKIES, ANYONE?

One of my Facebook friends sent me a private message last week, letting me know that she is missing my everyday posts, or responses to posts. As some of you would know, I'm working for Elections PEI right now, so the days are very long, with no time for on line posting. I manage to keep up with my Blog, since I did save a few ahead of the game. And this gig won't last much longer, Election Day looms near!

So today, since Ethel mentioned it, I'd like to focus on the lowly cookie. During the Covid19 "lock-down" my favorite way to end off any post, comment or rant, was to advise all my readers "to have a cookie."

Well, I'd like to expound on that.

I remember reading a Reader's Digest article years ago (anybody remember those?) on the probable origins of our everyday cookie. And since I'm a bit of a foodie, I remembered it quite well.

Bakers have been making cookies for a loooooong time, ever wonder how it all started? The theory goes a little like this......

Wood burning stoves, or a rudimentary brick oven of sorts, in a central fireplace (think Little House on The Prairie) were the primary sources of our meals on a daily basis. It was certainly a step up from beans in a pot over an open fire outside.

It was primitive, but it worked. Many a fine meal complete with home baked bread was cooked and served from a wood stove, and as I mentioned in an earlier Blog, all my lessons were learned on a wood stove, which had a Kemac burner for summer cooking. Bakers prided themselves on providing tasty nutritious meals, complete with a dessert. And I still think there's no real substitute for a pan of busicuits fresh from a wood stove oven. I digress...

But a cookie? Hmmmm....

Well, back in the day, wood stoves were notoriously hard to maintain at an even temperature, necessary for turning out a pie or a cake that was sure to be the envy of the county. Not enough wood at the right time, you get underbaked food, no matter how many times you turned the pan around. Too much wood made a quick fire, and the food, well, dry and probably burnt. On one side. Grrrrr....

My grandmother and her daughters were wonderful cooks and bakers, and actually made the wedding cakes for many local brides, among other things. I can still remember playing with the cake pans, all different sizes, for the different layers. They had the knack of it!

I blew the cover off this popular cookie cook book, which I'm sure most of us own. You can see from the date that we've been cookie lovers for a long time!

The Reader's Digest version told me that in stirring up a very labor intensive cake was the test of many a local baker. A lot of the ingredients were unavailable in a reliable and affordable manner. They would have ready access to the eggs, cream, butter, milk, for instance, but vanilla or lemon? Chocolate or raisins? Nuts or cherries? Very expensive and harder to come by, so they had to invent a way to test that cake before the actual bake.

What's a baker to do?

Well, grease up a cookie sheet (no parchment paper in those days) and spoon a little puddle on the pan, slip it in the oven and wait and see what it would do.

Would it rise?

Would it brown?

Would it taste good?

What a clever way to do it!! They had no tolerance for waste, this was brilliant. As they peered through the little dim window on the oven door, checking the clock, tapping their foot, without the benefit of lights in the oven, the puddle of batter began to rise and puff up. Success!! Obviously then, the batter worked, but how would it taste?

We'll soon find out.

Out comes the pan, and SHUT THAT OVEN DOOR!!! Someone was sure to shout it, so they wouldn't lose that precious oven heat. And later they would shout DON'T SLAM THAT DOOR!! as it was sure to cause that delicate and expensive cake to deflate and be ruined.

Slide that now cooked puddle of cake onto a plate, wait a minute for it to cool, and then bite in.......more lemon? A smidge more sugar? Now's the time to trust that dollop of cooked batter and adjust the ingredients. Hand the last bite to one of the kids to see what they thought. Then a fight would no doubt erupt, and next time Mother would be sure to ladle out one small spoonful for each kid to try. (I have another story, similar, about seal eyeballs, but that's another story for another day.....eh, Donna?)

And the rest as they say, is homemaker history. The "cookie" was born, and I for one am delighted.

Nothing made me happier as a young mother and cook, than having my children all "helping" me to bake cookies. And then my grandkids. It's a treat that seems etched in our DNA. Well, mine anyway. After all, what's Christmas without cookies? (Peanut Butter Balls, anyone?) Don't talk so loose!

If you were to take a survey to find the world's most popular cookie, what would it be? Oh what a stoopid question......Chocolate Chip!! But of all the things I've mastered, a decent chocolate chip cookie isn't among them. And I'm okay with that. After all, the world is full of recipes for me to try! I'm retired, remember?

I've made Shortbreads.

I've made Ginger Cookies. (with real ginger)

Molasses with Rum? You bet!

After a trip to "Rita's Tea Room" in Cape Breton, I enjoyed a delicious pot of tea, served with Lavender Sugar Cookies, and came home armed with the recipe.

Peanut Butter? Prune Danish? Oatmeal? No problem!!

I'll make you anything you want, just don't ask me for Chocolate Chip.

All my children have turned out to be great cooks and bakers, and one of my sons-in-law has turned out to be the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie baker, along with my brother. But not me.

Cookies make a handy snack, a grab and go. I've even been accused of sneaking in a little nutrition once in a while. But I couldn't fool them with promises of delicious cookies, once they saw the walnuts or bran. Oh well....

What's a school bake sale without cookies?

What's the point of a bonfire without S'mores? No point at all, would it really be a bonfire?

What's the most beloved beginner cookie of all? Hard to argue with the Spider Cookies, or as I call them at my house "Dogshit Cookies."

What a silly little Blog, but I covered a lot of dark topics when I spilled my guts early on, I'm ready for something a little lighter.

Thanks for following along with me. I get a lot out of it.

We are still living with Covid.

So for god sakes, have a cookie. Or two.