(Mis)Adventures in the Kitchen

On Christmas morning, Santa brought me what I had been dreaming about – a Kitchenaid standing mixer. As my mom remarked as I was unwrapping the gigantic box, “some girls want diamonds, you wanted kitchen appliances” (nota bene: I’ll gladly accept diamonds, too). It was everything I have ever dreamed of. I had spent months picking out the perfect color to match my future apartments. I had dreamed of the exciting things I could whip up with ease. Needless to say, I was dying to put it to use all of Christmas Day, but our Puerto Rican pernil occupied our oven for the better part of eight hours. As soon as dinner ended, I jumped on the opportunity to bake my dad’s favorite oatmeal cookies as a thank you to Santa Claus. My elation was short lived. Things with the cookies ended poorly when, as a direct result of me not reading the instructions (whoops), I used the wrong mixing attachment and baked the most bizarre oatmeal cookies in the history of oatmeal cookies.

Every time I walk by my new Kitchenaid, which is often, as it is currently sitting in the middle of our island, I’m tempted by all of the exciting things I can try to make with it – breads, candies, cakes, oh my. However, dreams of future merengues are tainted by those bizarre wannabe oatmeal cookies still sitting uneaten next to my baby. After the cookies, I had been humbled. I realized it was best to start with the basics… and after reading the instructions. So I found a seemingly simple cinnamon roll recipe in my trusted copy of How to Cook Everything and went to work...

Ha. Still fooled that shiny machine that was my BFF mere hours ago. My dough didn’t rise. Nor did it particularly look like dough. In retrospect, cinnamon rolls are probably not the best beginner’s introduction to bread making. To be totally honest, the recipe called for the use of a food processor, but I thought I could out-smart it by using my Kitchenaid, which had to be a far superior machine… ignore the fact that they serve completely different purposes.

So there I was, feeling defeated. Again. I decided to take a break with dough, and bake a batch of my favorite Christmas cookies from an old family recipe. So yes, dear readers (hi, mom!), you have read this far to get the recipe of literally the simplest cookies on the face of the planet. Enjoy!

Molasses Cookies

¾ c. oil

1 c. sugar

1 egg, beaten

2 c. flour

½ t. salt

2 t. baking soday

½ t. ginger

½ t. cloves

1 t. cinnamon

¼ c. molasses

Combine all ingredients. Chill dough. Form into 1 t. balls, roll in sugar, bake at 375˚ for 8 to 10 minutes, until cracked across top.

Allow me to gloat for a quick second – mixing the dough in the Kitchenaid took literally less than a minute. I was astounded. But don’t get me wrong, my Kitchenaid and I aren’t on speaking terms again yet. Don’t expect any more Kitchenaid posts anytime soon. My next adventures will be with what the Kitchenaid recipe book calls “Simple White Bread,” which I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you about in great detail. Once I get those cinnamon rolls down, though, you all will be the first to know.