Betty Crocker Plus One

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Today, before Iz left for school, I told her we’d bake chocolate-chip cookies when she got home from school. I love to bake, and to me, baking has a season. The baking season is September through May. Yes, no baking in the Summer. And, I don’t say that lightly, because I love to bake.

If you are foolish enough to bake in the Summer without central air, then you will suffer the penalties imposed on those who violate the decreed season. The penalties are the sweats, even if you’re not menopausal, from moving said baked goods in and out of the oven, a longing desire to be at Crane Beach instead of stuck in a hot kitchen, and a loss of camaraderie with those friends who bring “store bought” baked goods to Summer picnics whilst you show them up with freshly baked goods. A tough price to pay, don’t ya think?

Anyway, I had Iz at “bake” and “cookies,” because she responded with “Yessssssssssssssssss!” Of course, I opened the cupboard to make sure I had chocolate chips, and then she saw the butterscotch chips. She picked them up, handed them to me, and asked, “Mom, instead of chocolate chip cookies, can we make sprinkle cookies?” When Iz gives you butterscotch chips, you make Buttery Butterscotch Cut-Outs. I answered, “Err, um, okay.”

My only hesitation was due to the fact that I could make chocolate-chip cookies in my sleep. I could make them underground ten feet deep. I could make them with my feet (eww, wouldn’t that be gross?!), and I could make them amidst a flock of sheep. (Yes, I love Dr. Seuss!)

Sprinkle cookies (a.k.a., Buttery Butterscotch Cut-Outs) took a lot of prep and effort. You had to make the dough, refrigerate it for an hour, roll it out, cut the dough with cookie cutters, decorate the cookies, and then bake them. (Nathan called them sprinkle cookies when he was little, because we used sprinkles to decorate them.) Okay, I had the time to make them, but did I have the patience?!

When Nathan used to ask me to make “sprinkle cookies,” I’d say, “Sure.” And by the time we measured the three cups of flour, he’d be asking, “Mom, can I go play at Brian’s?” or “Can I go watch Arthur?”

I decided that I had the patience, and I could only help myself by making the dough before Iz got off the bus. So, I began the dough.



Note: Besides Rover, that Kitchen Aid mixer is my only other non-human relationship that’s lasted over 20 years!

The great thing about sprinkle cookies is that you can make the dough in about 15 minutes, if you’re really motivated, which I was today. Yes, I made it in between back-to-back episodes of “Law & Order.” And, it is the best cookie dough to eat, even better than chocolate-chip cookie dough.

Note to Ben and Jerry: Develop “Sprinkle Cookie Dough” ice cream for those butterscotch fanatics like me.



Chill, cookie dough, chill!



Note to Self: Clean up the dishes after one more episode of Law & Order.



Iz got off the bus, and the first thing she said was, “Mom, are we making cookies?!?!?!” Ah, my little Rachel Ray doesn’t forget a cooking moment!

We prepped the kitchen table for sprinkle cooking making!



And with visions of red, pink, purple, yellow, and greens sprinkles under consideration…



We unleashed the cookie cutter drawer, which remember, is so not an addiction!



I still have some of my Mom’s cookie cutters. They’re red, and in order to use them, you’d have to dose them with tons of flour, and even then, you’re not guaranteed when you pick the cutter up that you’ll have a viable cookie to bake. I really just keep them around for sentimental reasons. (I remember when we used to use them.) And those reasons, well, they’re just fine for me; they’re like “vintage” cookie cutters.

So, we rolled the dough out, as exhibited here.



Then we press a cookie cutter into the dough, as shown my Rachel Ray mini-me, Iz.


Then, we decorate!

And, I roll out more dough whilst Iz harrasses me!

And then, she makes more cookies whilst I harass her!

After all was said and done, Iz said, “This is fun with you, isn’t it? No boy trouble!” I almost laughed out loud.

Then moments later, she said, “You make good cookies, Miss Mom. That’s great dough!” And, you have to love someone who knows you so well, especially when it’s your own child. ♥

For Those of You Who are So Inclined to Make Buttery Butterscotch Cut-Outs Note: Here's the recipe. They’re awesome, bitchin’, and you’ll want to eat five of ‘em in one sitting. Please send back the waiver to me saying that you will not hold me responsible if you gain five pounds after making them!