I pride myself on not being too old to learn something new. Hence, the name of my blog - Ancora imparo. This past weekend, The Little Voice gave me a lesson in cookie-eating technique that made me proud.
I'd like to think that my family has been raised to appreciate the art of cookies: What makes a good cookie, the joy of eating raw cookie dough (I'll address the health concerns of that in a future paragraph.), the pros and cons of soft cookies versus crunchy cookies (I'm so far on the side of soft cookies that my angle of list rivals that of the Titanic just before she went under.), allowing your children to dunk their cookies in milk, understanding that cookie consumption MUST be accompanied by a glass of milk - preferably chocolate, and, that certain types of cookies demand a particular style of eating. It is regarding this last point that The Little Voice made my buttons want to burst!
My significant other and I traveled, this past weekend, to visit The Little Voice and his parents.
I had asked the question of his mother what cookies the cookie-maker should make if the cookie-maker made cookies and she replied, without hesitation, "Red and green cookies."
This is a recipe that has been with me for over two decades and remains a family favorite with my offspring, and, I'm thrilled to say, with my offspring's offspring. The cookie is a simple sugar-type cookie dough wrapped around a chocolate kiss, giving the cookie the shape of a Christmas tree. Long ago, I modified the recipe, dividing the dough into equal parts, adding red food coloring to one half and green to the other. These red and green cookies will be part of my holiday food preparations as long as I have breath. This past Christmas, The Little Voice learned to love and appreciate these delicious morsels as well.
During our visit, after lunch, The Little Voice asked his mother if he could have two cookies, one green and one red. She melted and said "yes", so my significant other and I sat down at the table while The Little Voice ate his cookies.
His technique was inspired and instinctive - nibble at the sugar-dough part while slowly turning the cookie clockwise, stopping only to retrieve fallen pieces of any significant size, all the while smiling from ear to ear. Pause intermittently to drink enough milk to wash down the cookie, resume chewing and, with a triumphant air of achievement, arrive at the chocolate prize in the middle, saved for the very end. Lick all crumbs from fingers, check again for fallen crumbs, and polish off the glass of milk. This, my friends, is masterful cookie consumption, which, I believe, must be genetic.
Lastly, to all the doomsdayers and naysayers regarding eating raw cookie dough, I say that it hasn't killed me yet and it will be the last vice I cling to. Here's to continued cookie dough consumption............even better with a cup of coffee!
Ancora imparo
