Mexican Wedding Cookies, Ole!
Looking back, I should have baked while Miss Violet was thusly occupied:
But you can see that the bad mom that I am left her sleeping on the edge of the couch, so I didn't feel quite right about burying my hands knuckle-deep in dough. What I didn't realize, however, was that she was going to nap for two hours this way. So while I was intending to be super productive and, say, shower and make cookies, I ended up whiling away the hours reading a fabulous new book, Let the Great World Spin. A good thing, yes. But it didn't get the cookies made. And then Violet woke up. Grr. I always hate missing out on naptime productivity. My neighbor K walked over some vanilla extract to me and commiserated. She has experienced the same problem. Unfortunately, she had no advice. But it made me feel infinitely better to know I'm not the only one.
Still, the cookies had to be made. I tried my best to entertain Violet. She was in the exersaucer, right there in the kitchen with me. I was singing and dancing around the room with dough in my hands. But no dice. The girl was pissed. Finally she just gave up, put her head down and boo-hooed at her bad luck to end up with a mama who was obviously deranged and didn't love her enough to pick her up already. So I played a fun game of running to the oven to check the baking progress, running back to the playmat to stack her blocks for her, rushing back to the kitchen to pull the cookies out, etc. Good times. The recipe called for tossing the cookies in powdered sugar, which I managed to do one-handed while holding the baby, until I realized that she probably shouldn't be breathing in all the sugar dust. Live and learn.
The cookies, fortunately, turned out great. I know this, because K swears they are her favorite kind of cookie (not necessarily the Mexican ones per se, but apparently every country boasts this type of cookie; in Mexico they just happen to be crescent shaped). I took some over to her as a taste test, and after eating one, she seemed pretty pleased. And I know she wasn't faking it just to be nice because she then proceeded to eat another one right in front of me, unprovoked. Plus, Wendi and Travis (the newlyweds, and look Travis, I actually mentioned you by name! Just for you, you little blog lurker) ate them as well and suffered no ill consequences that I know of. I have to say, they're not my favorite type of cookie - I'm more of an oatmeal chocolate chip type. Plus these are, by design, very dense and dry and if you're not careful, you inhale the powdered sugar as you put it in your mouth and can end up choking a bit. Still, it's another recipe conquered.
But I've learned my lesson. All future baking will take place while Violet is snoozing. Preferably in her bed and not the edge of the couch. Unless I just can't tear myself away from my new book. In which case, I hear Nabisco makes a pretty sweet cookie.
I know I am ancient, but that was what playpens were good for. So you could actually do something while your child snoozed away or played in the same room with you, while cooking, etc. I still don't know what is so bad about them, but they don't exist anymore, or maybe they have been replaced by the pack and play. Soon she will be crawling. That should add a new dimension.
ReplyDeleteCan I get a wut wut for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies?! The wedding cookies were fabulous by the way!
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