By Bianca "Fiasco" Marques
"Show me how to make cookies," six little words I've been told more times than I can remember, and it's no wonder why. Nothing can compare to homemade cookies. Nothing. Even the best store bought cookies cannot replace the warm smell that fills the kitchen or the ooey-gooey texture that you can only get from fresh, out-of-the-oven cookies. So why bother even buying store-bought cookies, they will always fail in comparison to homemade. The convenience of buying cookies is just a silly illusion, the reality is that making cookies is not that difficult, and definitely worth the effort.
Taste has to be the ultimate reason to make your own cookies. Every time you buy cookies at the store you are playing the cookie edition of Russian roulette, hoping not to get a stale box. Homemade cookies are always fresh; of course, you're making them on the spot. Even if the cookies are not stale, they still lack the moist texture homemade cookies have, and the brands that do claim to be extra moist just end up being greasy. Do not mistake those Pillsbury place and bake cookies for homemade. They are laced with that preservative after-taste or maybe that is the taste of sitting in a grocery store fridge for weeks.
Mmm, mmm preservatives. Preservatives, along with the other bounty of weird ingredients you have yet to identify as anything you could possibly find in the average person's kitchen are what you get in store bought cookies. You will find ingredients like niacin and thiamine monontrate in those store bought cookies. (1) What is this, cooking or a science experiment? The ingredients in homemade cookies include butter, sugar and flour; not only can you pronounce all the ingredients in homemade cookies but they are also kitchen basics.(2) I cannot be the only one out there who actually likes knowing what they are ingesting.
"Show me how to make cookies," six little words I've been told more times than I can remember, and it's no wonder why. Nothing can compare to homemade cookies. Nothing. Even the best store bought cookies cannot replace the warm smell that fills the kitchen or the ooey-gooey texture that you can only get from fresh, out-of-the-oven cookies. So why bother even buying store-bought cookies, they will always fail in comparison to homemade. The convenience of buying cookies is just a silly illusion, the reality is that making cookies is not that difficult, and definitely worth the effort.
Taste has to be the ultimate reason to make your own cookies. Every time you buy cookies at the store you are playing the cookie edition of Russian roulette, hoping not to get a stale box. Homemade cookies are always fresh; of course, you're making them on the spot. Even if the cookies are not stale, they still lack the moist texture homemade cookies have, and the brands that do claim to be extra moist just end up being greasy. Do not mistake those Pillsbury place and bake cookies for homemade. They are laced with that preservative after-taste or maybe that is the taste of sitting in a grocery store fridge for weeks.
Mmm, mmm preservatives. Preservatives, along with the other bounty of weird ingredients you have yet to identify as anything you could possibly find in the average person's kitchen are what you get in store bought cookies. You will find ingredients like niacin and thiamine monontrate in those store bought cookies. (1) What is this, cooking or a science experiment? The ingredients in homemade cookies include butter, sugar and flour; not only can you pronounce all the ingredients in homemade cookies but they are also kitchen basics.(2) I cannot be the only one out there who actually likes knowing what they are ingesting.
Oh, but cookies take so much time to make. Not true! Every time I've
shown someone how to make cookies they are always in awe of how little
time it takes from taking out a mixing bowl to taking a bite out of a
warm, delicious cookie. To make a batch of delicious cookies, it takes
about ten to fifteen minutes to whip up the batter, and eight to ten
minutes to bake. (2) Meanwhile, it takes me 10 minutes to walk to the
grocery store, three to five minutes to find the cookies I want, another
five minutes waiting at the cash and paying, finally another 10 minutes
to walk home. TADAA! 28 to 30 minutes for store bought cookies and 18
to 25 minutes for homemade. If you still think that's too long to make
cookies, you can always stop after the batter is done and indulge in the
classic girl-thing to do and eat raw cookie dough.
If you still are not convinced that homemade cookies are worth your time and effort, think about this; cookies, made exactly the way you like them. I challenge you to find mini-M&Ms, pecans and marshmallows all in one cookie at the grocery store. You will not find it. If you make your own cookies you can make any weird flavor combination you want. You can line up chocolate chips on every cookie to spell "Go Habs Go" or "Gnarly dude." You can make cookies the size of your face or cookies that are shaped like hearts. Making your own cookies allow you to have super customized treats for whatever mood you are in. The most practical customization is portion control, you do not really have a choice in how many cookies you get in a box, but you can always half a recipe or freeze the cookie dough to control how many cookies you make at once.(2)
People should not be intimidated about baking their own cookies. If anything, you should find it empowering, like all do-it-yourself projects. So give it a try and whip up a batch of cookies, heck, if you really miss the preservatives and stale quality of store bought cookies, they'll still be waiting there at the store for you.
CITATIONS
(1) Chips Ahoy Product Details: http://www.nabiscoworld.com/Brands/ProductInformation.aspx?BrandKey=chipsahoy&Site=1&Product=4400001796
(2) Sarah M. (Fiasco Cakes), personal communication, May 16, 2021
Image source: Flickr
If you still are not convinced that homemade cookies are worth your time and effort, think about this; cookies, made exactly the way you like them. I challenge you to find mini-M&Ms, pecans and marshmallows all in one cookie at the grocery store. You will not find it. If you make your own cookies you can make any weird flavor combination you want. You can line up chocolate chips on every cookie to spell "Go Habs Go" or "Gnarly dude." You can make cookies the size of your face or cookies that are shaped like hearts. Making your own cookies allow you to have super customized treats for whatever mood you are in. The most practical customization is portion control, you do not really have a choice in how many cookies you get in a box, but you can always half a recipe or freeze the cookie dough to control how many cookies you make at once.(2)
People should not be intimidated about baking their own cookies. If anything, you should find it empowering, like all do-it-yourself projects. So give it a try and whip up a batch of cookies, heck, if you really miss the preservatives and stale quality of store bought cookies, they'll still be waiting there at the store for you.
(1) Chips Ahoy Product Details: http://www.nabiscoworld.com/Brands/ProductInformation.aspx?BrandKey=chipsahoy&Site=1&Product=4400001796
(2) Sarah M. (Fiasco Cakes), personal communication, May 16, 2021
Image source: Flickr
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