I'm NO Baker!

 I'm no baker...never have claimed to be. I don't know if it is because I am also not much of a sweets eater. If you give me a choice between appetizer or dessert, appetizer will win every time. So, maybe my heart just isn't totally into it. Or, it could be that baking really does involve precise measuring and, we all know where I fall in that category. lol But, if I am making something to share with others, I do try my very best to adhere to a recipe.

And so, that is where I am today. I am making cookies to take to tomorrow's tailgate...one tried and true recipe and one new one. You might ask why in the world I would try a new recipe to share with others...and you would be completely valid in asking that. I don't know. It looked like a Halloween cookie and it is peanut butter so I thought there might be some people who would like that. I actually just realized that I had better put a sign by it because there might also be people who can't eat these - yikes!

In any case, I had to run a number of places to find the supplies and, I had taken note of a comment under the recipe so I thought I was good to go. All of the other comments agreed with the first but then said the cookie is delicious. The comment stated that one should half the amount of chocolate chips and sprinkles. It originally called for 2 cups of chips and 1/2 cup of sprinkles. The writer said it made the dough too dry and she couldn't get it to form cookies. And so, I followed the new recipe...and, it was still the driest dough I have ever worked with. The only way I could get it to hold at all was to use my hands and constantly work the chips into the dough before forming the balls. The warmth of my hands worked at warming the dough a bit but it was still not a fun dough to work with. I "smushed" as many chips into the dough as I could and then just tossed the rest. IF I ever make this again, I will be reducing the chips even more. Here they are ready to go into the oven.

And this is what went into the trash.

It says to form the dough into balls and then "fork" them as you would a traditional peanut butter cookie. I tried-believe me I tried. But, with the dough as dry as it was, the "forking" just made the cookie ball fall apart. I ended up putting them in the oven for 8 minutes, smushing them again and then giving them one more slight smush when they came out. They are sitting on the cookie sheets cooling - as per the recipe - right now. As I said, I am not a cookie person but you can be sure I will be tasting one of these before I share them with our friends! Lol I'll let you know. At least they resemble a peanut butter cookie a bit more now.

I also managed to get the Double Chocolate Halloween cookies done and another large pot of my favorite Martha Stewart soup. I am off to sit down and put my feet up - I've been in the kitchen all day and I'm beat. The cookies are just in their storage containers right now but tomorrow they will get all "Halloweened" up...meaning that I will take them on one of my pretty Halloween trays.

I haven't tasted a chocolate cookie as I've made them before so they should be OK but I did try the new recipe. I don't think I will be making them again. I think there is still something wrong with the recipe because I didn't taste any peanut butter at all so they just taste like a "cookie"...nothing special and definitely not for all of the work they took. I'm pretty sure all of the kids that stop by the tailgate will eat them and not complain but definitely not going in my "favorites" file. Guess you will never know if you don't try. Lol Stay safe and stay tuned.