What? Glass shards and cookies don't mix?

 

Sunday, I was in the mood to bake. Moreover, I was in the mood to eat something baked...and all I could think about were these heavenly cookies I tasted at a baby shower I went to a few weeks ago.  Soft ginger snaps dipped in white chocolate.  (I'm salivating again just thinking about them...) Not wanting to bother the friend for her recipe on a Sunday, I decided they should be pretty easy to duplicate...so I Googled a recipe, and was off. This should be easy!

Now let's go way back for a minute.  When Joel and I were dating (you know, for that week), I made cookies for him one day while he watched.  He was amazed at how quickly I could whip out a batch of cookies (I had been doing this FOREVER you know!). 20 minutes tops.  Why waste time when there's a delicious reward waiting to be devoured??? At any rate, I still think that had something to do with how quickly he fell in love...:) ...and secretly, I may have loved that I had that trick up my sleeve.

So I was making the dough, and just needed salt.  I reached above the mixer to grab it from the cupboard, when CRASH!!!! I didn't know what hit.  It took me a minute to realize I hadn't been hit by shrapnel in a war zone.  There were shards of glass EVERYWHERE.  I think I might have screamed.  I keep our Koolaid packets in a glass jar on the top shelf of the cupboard, and it had fallen and exploded on top of my mixer.   Joel came to my rescue...again! :) We picked the shards out of my shirt, pants, and socks, and then carefully cleaned up.  It took about 40 minutes...'cuz we kept finding more and more broken glass.  Of course, it wouldn't have been an Angie catastrophe without having to throw everything out/clean everything...the entire flour canister got glassed, the dishes in the sink, and even the dough. I wouldn't have blogged about this typical event in my daily life, except that while I was cleaning it up, I kept thinking of all the little lessons I was learning. 

First, being confident can quickly turn to cocky if one is not careful. Second, there can always be something to improve upon in an area of expertise...:) My chef always used to tell us "Clean up as you work!" It used to drive me crazy, 'cuz I'd turn around to grab an ingredient I'd pulled out, and she would have scooped it up to put it away.  If I'd followed that rule, I wouldn't have had to throw out 5 #'s of flour.  Third, never use cheap dollar store glass containers in the kitchen.  NEVER.  And fourth,  if possible, always ask for the original recipe if you find something you love.  Once I'd cleaned up the mess, I was determined to have something worthwhile out of the whole ordeal...so I made them again, sans glass shards.  It took me about 10 minutes.  They turned out fine, but they just weren't Emily's cookies. (If you're reading this Emily, I need your recipe! Sincerely, your craving-crazed preggo friend.)  

So, thanks glass jar, you taught this wanna-be chef a thing or two!

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