Cookies by the Dozen

I got the baking itch on Saturday morning, but saying I "baked some cookies" is like saying Norman Borlaug "fed some people".  Maybe someday IPTV will do a documentary on the Mother of the Cookie Revolution, but somehow I don't think my contributions to the waistlines of my friends and family holds quite the significance of saving people from starvation.

What I'm trying to say is, I baked a lot of cookies.

The final count included 7.5 dozen frosted oatmeal cookies, 5.5 dozen gingersnaps, and 5.5 dozen chocolate chip cookies. I think my Oster hand mixer deserves a hand for not shorting out in the quest to mix 3 large sticky batches of dough. It makes me wish for a KitchenAid stand mixer now more than ever, but I haven't quite figured out how to justify the $300+ price tag yet. Saying "But it's PRETTY," does not convince my inner Dutch voice (yes, I had the argument with myself and the Dutch side won...again). I guess my Consumer voice needs to either find a stronger argument or just admit defeat because I'm tired of listening to those two bicker.

Anyway, the cookies got a trial taste-testing by Adam and myself (the broken ones only...I swear! Plus the ones I dropped on the floor. And the ones whose frosting smeared a little. And the ones that were hanging too far off the cooling rack. It was a safety issue, really).  They all passed the test!

I took a plate to the school staff cookout last night where they barely got touched since there were 15 other amazing desserts (my plan worked :) and I happily took most of them home. I sent some home with my sister and BIL as thanks for watching Ryan last night and froze several dozen for next Sunday when we'll be celebrating my grandpa's 90th birthday with cookies after church.  That was the real impetus of the baking spree.

The sad part is, my baking ingredient stockpiling hoarding tendencies became quite evident when, with no prior planning,  I had every single ingredient needed for these cookies. In fact, I could have made twice as much.

I just couldn't ask that much from my hand mixer.