After School Special

I’m in a very ABC After School Special kind of mood today.   The first cool mornings of pre-Fall are creeping in and I would rather just stay under the covers instead of getting out of bed, but that’s not the way to get things done I know.  If I’ve learned anything over the years it’s you have to get up, put a smile on your face and everything else will follow.  And, if I don’t get drunk, use drugs, become pregnant or bully any of the other kids on the bus the day will turn out fine…at least that’s what ABC always promised me growing up.

This morning definitely has that “school day” kind of feel.  I am still the person who doesn’t want to get up, sleeping until the last possible minute all in the hope of eking out one more moment of time where I’m suspended in a sleepy limbo, yet to take on the responsibilities of the day.  I would much rather spend the day on the couch watching old episodes of Martha Stewart Living or the Joy of Painting with Bob Ross or the Golden Girls, maybe with a bag of nacho cheese Doritos and sour cream and chive dip at my side for companionship…and some fresh baked cookies.

I spent a good deal of time perusing the September food magazines last weekend, and the one constant theme was “back to school”.  There were plenty of ideas for making a healthy school lunch or after school snack, but surprisingly there was very little mention of Doritos.  How could they possibly overlook that?  Apparently people today are into eating fruit and celery with peanut butter or some other low calorie concoction, but I know when I got home from school all I ever wanted were the “naughty goods”.  Chips and dips and cookies were my hands down favorite…no after school vegetables for me, thank you.

When I started thinking about school/childhood related snacks there was an obvious choice for me:  the Chocolate Chip Cookie.  I’ve always loved them, and quite frankly who doesn’t?  There are very few things in life I have gorged myself on until becoming ill and then gone back for more.  I don’t know what it is about them, besides the obvious buttery and chocolate-y goodness.  They are addictive, like a drug…but ABC always told me not to use drugs, drugs were bad (remember the eggs scrambling in the pan?) and now I have a dilemma.  I NEED MY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!!

Chocolate chip cookies are deceptively simple; meaning they really are simple, but the quality of your final product depends on how much attention you pay them while in the oven.  These cookies can be quick to over-bake if you don’t watch closely, they become dried out (or worse burnt) little hockey pucks in the time it takes you to unload the dishwasher.  The dough is easy to make and takes very little time, but once they are in the oven I think it’s best to stop what you are doing, have a nice cup of tea or coffee at the ready, maybe some jazz playing in the background… then patiently wait and watch. 

When it comes to the legendary chocolate chip cookie people have their favorites.  Some folks like large, crispy disks studded with milk chocolate, others a soft and moist cookie, delicate but flavorful.  I definitely lean toward the softer side… it must be my gentle nature.  I’m keeping a vigil for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, a candle in the window for a soldier returning home with a recipe recovered from deep behind enemy lines…a recipe so secret that the nation wouldn’t be able to cope with it’s contents.  That’s part of the fun when it comes to baking and trying out new recipes, you never know if “this one” is going to be “the one”, the holy grail of chocolate chip cookies (or insert other pastry item here) as we know it…and the truth is completely subjective.  One person’s crisp cookie is a “soft cookie kind of person’s” failure, and vice-versa.

The chocolate chip cookies I made this week were certainly in the upper echelon of the soft cookie species.  I think it comes from the sour cream found in the recipe, and this is also what intrigued me most.  It really did keep them moist and flavorful without being overpowering.  The sour cream gave the cookies a counterpoint to all the sweetness (similar to the way salt does), making a more robust and yummy cookie with delicate golden edges and a cozy, soft interior.  Eating them is like reliving the best moments of childhood.

All I know for sure is I was in a cookie mood, and apparently one kind wasn’t going to cut it this week.  As the “back to school” magazine theme kept drilling itself into my head another thought occurred, a long and seemingly repressed memory from third grade, not a bad memory, and in fact a pleasant memory that shot out of the ether (as random thoughts often do) to manifest itself in the form of a delicious Oatmeal Cream Pie. 

I don’t know about you, but I remember loving Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies.  The September 2010 issue of Everyday Food has a recipe for an oatmeal cream pie that is to die for.  They are really like inside out cheesecakes or are on par with what I would call cake sandwiches more than cookies…and that’s just fine by me.  I don’t make oatmeal raisin cookies very often, though they are one of Brian’s favorites, and I think it’s because I’m not a big fan of raisins in general…unless they are in these cookie/cakes or in the occasional cinnamon roll.  The cream cheese filling sandwiched inside is made with good old fashioned Philadelphia Cream Cheese and 6 tablespoons of confectioner's sugar:  the definition of simplicity and decadence and it will leave everyone wanting more.   I also added an 1/8-teaspoon of cardamom to the dry ingredients for a little extra spice and an extra 1/4-teaspoon of salt to really bring the cookies to life.

Fall is the perfect time for going through your spice cabinet, throwing out the old, bringing in the new and getting acquainted with old friends hiding inside.  It’s the season of cinnamon and cardamom, cloves, nutmeg and ginger…all the greats in my book.  Just thinking the names gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling all over and conjures up thoughts of holidays coming down the road and bright colored leaves.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to rush things, but I look forward to this time of year all year long with it’s colors and sentimentality, the smell of fireplaces starting up and tons and tons of mums, new jackets, new sneakers and Beverly Cleary books…now I’m getting sidetracked.

The inspiration, as I started to mention, was from when I was 8 years old and in the third grade.   Mrs. McNabb was our teacher that year, a rather grandmotherly figure as I recall, and the incentive for memorizing all the capitals of the United States was a Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pie.  On one hand it seems like a “throw-away” sort of memory and I certainly couldn’t tell you much more about the third grade than that, but on the other hand it must have been profound and quite possibly the first time I ever had a Little Debbie product…it must have been like a drug to my system because all I knew is I had to have more!!!  What better incentive can you have for learning American geography than cream cheese?

I know I’ve blasted processed desserts in the past, and I’m not going to start advocating for them now when there is a delicious recipe clearly outlining the simple steps it takes to make such a wondrous morsel, but when I was 8 it was a thing of amazement.  I think Little Debbie was also amazing when I was in college, making late night runs to the local 7-11 or Git-n-Go, but clearly I couldn’t be held responsible for my actions at that time…. no one can.  Cookies have always been my drug of choice…I guess ABC’s After School messages have failed.  Thank goodness I didn’t wind up pregnant (I must have been paying attention that day).

Maybe I shouldn’t poke so much fun at those after school shows, I guess they helped me turn out okay in the end, I mean I still remember them right?  The “moments” your brain hangs onto is quite astounding.  Sometimes all it takes is a flash of an image or a random smell and you regress to elementary school in no time flat, time and reality seem to draw out and you can vividly see “that place” or hear “that person” as if it was only yesterday.  And sometimes maybe it’s about tasting “that thing” once more, the wonderful sugar laced item that made you smile and feel special and accomplished.  Baking these cookies is a worthy accomplishment.  Bringing them to work on a Monday will make everyone feel better about getting out of bed and I highly recommend them both. It’s just who I am.