Is It Milk & Cookie Time?

September is here which means it's back to school and back to regular routines in this and so many other homes across America. Summer is fun with it's lazy days and schedules, however, Fall is and always will be the season I hold dear to my heart. This is the time that we start penciling in the lacrosse games, orchestra concerts, confirmation and all the other events we can squeeze into one school year. We are also dusting off the crockpot and getting back to planning dinners and baking comfort foods when time allows.

All of this planning and scheduling makes me think back to when I was a kid and the only thing I could think about after school was running home for a snack. I was fortunate that my Mom was a piano teacher so she worked from home. We had to be really quiet when we came in from school in case she was in the middle of a lesson, but we could always forage a snack for ourselves from the pantry. I was not involved in after-school sports or activities like my daughter is today. I had my snack while doing homework and if I got done quickly enough I might have time for 30 minutes of cartoons or get a life lesson in from watching the ABC after school specials. After that, I pretty much played outside till the dinner bell rang. I sometimes wish it was still as simple as I remember it, but the kids today seem to have so much more to keep them busy and because of that we tend to start looking for shortcuts where we can find them. I work part time from home which means on some days I have time to create snacks and dinners that are more labor intensive. But like many busy moms I sometimes have those days where I'm just happy when my kid grabs a protein bar and a bottle of water on her way to practice.

For the most part I always try to be an advocate for baking from scratch, however, I am also a realist and know that there is not always time to go that route. Today is one of those days. I wanted to have a snack for my daughter and her friends when they came home so I grabbed the box of cake mix that I keep in the pantry for emergencies and baked up some super quick double fudge cookies. They are quick and easy and at the end of a busy day for both of us, I'm just happy to see the smile it gives her and not whether or not I get the Betty Crocker Mom of the Year Award. However, if I used Betty Crocker Cake Mix, does that count?  I'm jus' sayin'!

Cake Mix Cookies 

1 box of your favorite flavored cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge)
1/2 Cup of Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup of Dark Chocolate Chips (you can omit these if you are using a different cake flavor)

Mix all of the above. Scoop onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350º for 9 minutes. Let cool and enjoy! Yep, that easy.  Feel free to experiment with different cake flavors and add-in's. I would love to hear about your favorites.

The Wooden Spoon

My Mom first received the "wooden spoon" as a wedding present, coming with a matching wooden fork and a large wooden salad bowl. The salad bowl only came out for special occasions and over a decade later, ended up as a garage sale item. As for the fork, we never quite put our finger on where that disappeared too. But the spoon... well that's a whole other story.

This spoon, if given an audience, could tell some kitchen stories that would put Mark Twain to shame. It could tell you how it stirred up coffee cakes with crumbled strudel on those "special" breakfast mornings. It helped my Daddy beat eggs, Bisquick and milk into some mighty-fine pancake suppers on Sunday nights. It can tell you how it occasionally lent its hand to child rearing when my brothers and I found ourselves acting out. I'd bet that it's seen more potlucks and stirred up more birthday cakes than Betty Crocker herself! I remember
using this spoon when I started baking. I also remember when I snuck it out of my Mom's kitchen and kept it in mine. I bake when I need peace and so that spoon has had a hand in grief, happiness, stress and of course, comfort. It has burn marks on it and it's weathered at the ends, but it still continues to be a legacy in our kitchen. I have kept it intact and still use it whenever I need the "perfect" spoon to mix something up.

Like any good kitchen tool, if you find one that works then you stay with it instead of trying to upgrade it because it just feels right in the hand. I had hoped to hand this spoon down to my daughter as a third generation of cooking lore. However, as we were getting ready to take the picture with it that now sits at the top of this blog, my husband picked it up and for whatever cosmic reason, it broke in half. Naturally, I was just in shock! How could a spoon that lasted 50 years just break in half? How could it stand up to so many batters and not get lost at so many functions just break in the hands of - bless his heart - my husband? I thought to myself, "How can I write a blog about my Mother's spoon if it's broken?" Well, guess what... with a little wood glue, a clamp, and numerous apologies from my sweet man, it's back to being that lovely wooden spoon and you know what? That break will just add more character for my daughter, because after all, it's not the spoon but the love behind it. That spoon endured more love than any one kitchen tool I know and I am proud to pass that love down to her.

Happy Mothers Day to my Mom, who taught me about the love and peace I can find by picking up a wooden spoon and turning it into a piece of comfort for my family. And Hun, don't worry if the wood glue doesn't work - there's always duct tape and it comes in many colors... I'm jus' sayin'!



In honor of my mom, I am posting her all-time favorite cookie recipe. If I had to pick one cookie that reminded me of my childhood, it's this one. The whole house smells of goodness when you bake these little gems. It's still one of the only cookies my Mom bakes today. My daughter loves these cookies and after making them for this blog, I realized I don't bake them enough. Betty Crocker was certainly onto something with this rich and spicy cookie.



Molasses Crinkles (adapted from Betty Crocker)

3/4 cup shortening
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup mild-flavor molasses or full-flavor molasses
1 egg
2 1/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar

1. Mix shortening, brown sugar, molasses and egg thoroughly in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients except granulated sugar. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

2. Heat oven to 375°F. Grease cookie sheet. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Dip tops in granulated sugar. Place balls, sugared sides up, 3 inches apart on cookie sheet. Sprinkle each with 2 or 3 drops of water.

3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or just until set but not hard. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.