Cookies are essential for happiness

The Waller Bakery Staff

Sous Chef Zoe

expert at getting things ready and measuring

Our Resident Naked Chef Parker

prefers being naked while stirring ingredients and breaking eggs

Our Certified Taste Tester Tanner

declares "mmm" or "ick" for each sample tasted

instantly rating each cookie's taste

Cookies are pretty important, don't you think?

Tanner can say "cookie" better than any other word in his vocabulary. My husband checks the cookie jar as soon as he walks in the door from work. We make cookies about once a week around here. As soon as the kids see me pull out the mixer, they come running. I mean, full-on sprint to see who can get closest to the ingredients. Brown sugar is their favorite, they'd eat it by the spoonful if I'd allow it.

The preferred recipe for my family is the good old fashioned Toll House chocolate chip cookies. I like to try new things, my family, not so much. I try to switch it up, every couple of batches we make a new cookie. Sometimes, it's just a slight variation of the Toll House recipe but it makes it more fun for me.

This last time we made cookies I was a teeny weeny bit irritated, it had something to do with who got to stand on the big stool (probably to be closer to the brown sugar) and I was ready to knock someone out with my rubber spatula. Anyway, instead of putting the vanilla extract in the cookie dough, I accidentally put in orange extract. Holy yum! Those cookies had just the slightest organey flavor, a hint of it. Kind of like an orange chocolate truffle. The kids didn't say anything. Hubby didn't say anything. I'm guessing they didn't notice, I did, I'm such a foodie (ha ha- I wish!). This week we made banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, woo hoo, yummy. After two weeks of experimental cookies, I'll be making Toll House, kind of boring, but at least I don't have to check the recipe!