Saturday mornings are always special in my family. That’s why, a few weeks ago, we agreed that we should have a baking day together. That way, we can create some colorful cookies to share with our friends!
Turning my head toward the spice cupboard, I wondered where I should begin. I thought of the little gingerbread men my Grandma used to cut out for me every Christmas. Maybe I should try to create a new kind of cookie altogether? Or, best of all, I could bake some of my favorite chocolate chip cookies that my Mom often makes.
Oh dear, what if my cookies turned out all wrong? I wouldn’t want to embarrass myself in front of my family and the friends we plan to share the cookies with! “Woah, woah there, Oliver!” That’s what my family often says when I get a little too worked up about things.
Anyway, just when I thought it might be best to forget about the entire idea, I suddenly knew exactly what I could do! We could all decide on our favorite cookie recipes together, and get started straight away!
My family likes to help out when they can, especially with baking days like this.
My Dad put all the ingredients we needed together on the counter, and quickly gathered up any additional bits and bobs we had floating around the kitchen. Chicken, who is quite the baker herself, decided to join us, too. My brother, Ben, preheated the oven.
Then we went through our family recipes. My Dad found Mummy’s special chocolate chip biscuits and Banana’s famous shortbread recipe. It sure was wonderful how many recipes we’ve gathered over the years! In fact, we turned a whole lot of pages looking for just the right recipes. Before we knew it, we’d spent a good three quarters of an hour just looking!
At last, we had gathered an entire plateful of recipes to read through. “Okay, Mom,” Ben said. “Which one are you voting for?”
“Definitely my chocolate chip cookies,” my Mom answered.
I felt a wave of relief wash over me. The last thing I wanted was having to pick one recipe over another, and possibly hurting someone’s feelings!
One by one, my family voted. In the end, the cookies we decided to bake were a mixture of everybody’s favorite cookies — Mom’s chocolate chip cookies, Banana’s shortbread, and Grandma’s Christmas gingerbread men!
Then came the fun part of mixing the ingredients together in one big bowl. We put in some egg, sugar, butter, and flour, as well as a chunk of chocolate big enough to share…except we didn’t! When it was finally time to put them in the oven, you could practically taste the dough before they’d even been baked.
Once we’d carefully spooned mounds of the chunky dough onto several baking trays, we placed them in the oven and waited patiently. About ten minutes later, the best smell ever wafted through the air. I’m not exaggerating when I say I practically flew over to the oven to help pull them out!
After letting them cool down for a few moments, it was the best bit of the day…TASTE TESTING!
Sitting in my kitchen with our cookies, the table full of happy faces, I felt so pleased with myself. Together, we created some scrumptious new treats using our family recipes to share with our friends. Everybody dug in, and before I knew it, we’d eaten nearly everything!
Although it would have been fun to bake with friends before sharing what we’d baked, I’d never before realized just how much nicer it is to share the experience with family. The memories we’ve made will be treasured forever, and I plan to open my cookie jar to treat them all again very soon!