Accidentally Giant

For this article, I wanted to take a different approach. I have been so caught up in the busy life lately, and I wanted to take a minute to slow down. I've been up to my eyes in orders, baking for others, and making sure to take pictures and videos for social media; I think I've forgotten that I can bake for myself. I haven't been able to bake for myself or experiment with a recipe in what feels like an eternity. Today, I decided to do that. I have been craving chocolate chip cookies so badly. So, that's what I baked.

One of my very close, dearest friends, and a big supporter, makes some of the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. A while ago, we did a recipe swap, and I traded my brownie recipe for her cookie recipe. But I haven't had the chance to make them until today, that is. I wanted to experiment with this recipe, too, so I got the baby down for a nap and checked out the cabinets to see what I could do. I had an abundance of chocolate chips, as any baker should. I then found some mini marshmallows and graham crackers. A s'mores cookie could be fun! I figured I could simply split the dough in half, making one half chocolate chip and the other s'mores. As you know, I like to fly by the seat of my pants when I experiment and not look anything up. I like to do whatever comes into my head and learn from the outcome, so that's what I did.

I got all the ingredients out and premeasured. I went ahead and added an extra egg yolk to the original recipe to add more richness and fat to the dough. And to be honest, I always add more vanilla than the recipe calls for. I like to measure with my heart. Once the dough came together, I split it into two sections. What was left in the bowl was going to be the regular chocolate chip, and I was going to hand-knead the s'mores cookies. I dumped a metric ton of chocolate chips into the mixing bowl and turned it back on. While that was mixing, I preheated the oven to 375 degrees. They came together, I rolled some cookies out and stuck them in the fridge to chill while the oven preheated, and I worked on the other half of the cookie dough. I dumped the chocolate chips and marshmallows into the bowl and crushed up some of the graham crackers. I wasn't sure about the graham crackers, but I just went with it. It took a minute to get everything to stick in the dough, but I got it. By the time I got these together, the oven was preheated. The s'mores cookies got rolled into balls and went into the fridge. I placed the chocolate chip cookies on a sheet pan and started the bake. In hindsight, I should have started with a test cookie, but I forgot, and it was too late to turn back.

I guess I rolled these cookies out a bit bigger than I anticipated because they got huge! I ended up baking these for close to 20 minutes. They got a little crispier than I would have liked, but they still tasted good! They were for home, so that's all that mattered. Since they got so big as they baked, I lowered the oven temperature after the first batch from 375 to 325. I rolled all the cookies to roughly the same size. I didn't use anything to measure out the dough. I probably need to get a scale, but that's a future me problem. The second batch baked a little better. The middles baked better, and the outer edges of the cookies weren't as crunchy. These baked 15-20 minutes. I don't remember because the baby woke up during all the bakes.

Time for the s'mores cookies! I was excited to see how these were going to turn out. I put the first batch in the oven at 325 degrees, and they baked for about 20 minutes, if I remember correctly. I think I stuck with 20 minutes for all the bakes after the first batch. That oughtta tell you how big I accidentally rolled out these cookies! When the timer went off, I was shocked to see what was on the cookie sheet. These cookies had spread even more than the chocolate chip cookies, and the marshmallows kind of melted and somewhat crystallized in the oven! Regardless, they went onto the cooling rack, and the second batch of those went into the oven. They might have looked a little funny, but they also tasted really good. I got a baker's dozen cookies from one batch of dough. I'm sure I could have gotten 24 or more if I had rolled the cookies to a normal size. And I was wondering if I had mixed up the measurements for the baking soda and baking powder. I made a note of what I used so I can switch it the next time I make these. I want to try the s'mores cookies again. I think they could have used more chocolate, especially since all I had were mini chocolate chips, and could have had more of a graham cracker taste. The way the marshmallows were baked made them pretty chewy. Needless to say, I was giggling at myself for making such giant cookies.

But that is just the thing I had slightly lost in my kitchen. I have been so caught up in fulfilling orders and expectations that I kind of left the joy of baking on the back burner. I was a little disappointed in myself for getting so caught up in the social media aspect of being a homebaker. I sometimes wish we lived in simpler times, where we weren't attached to our phones, and the internet didn't run the world. It's getting difficult to keep up with the advancement of everything. Trying to make a name for yourself, making videos, and endless posts to get views and engagement. With that being said, I am doing my best to post every day to get my bakes into the world. My next goal is to make this dream super official and get my cottage food license so I can open a small storefront. Then, I can make ads and get more local business. This summer, I would really love to get into some local farmers' markets and festivals. I cannot contain my excitement for the amazing things to come this year. They don't tell you how difficult it can be to start a business for the thing you love to do, especially while being a full-time single parent. But it's important to keep your head up and keep at it. It may seem impossible today, but amazing things are to come. One day, I will look back on this post and will proudly say, "I did it."

Thank you so much for being here. I know this post was a little different than the others, but it was nice to talk about challenges and really practice what I preach: to bake with love and happiness; to experiment with recipes and make something delicious. That's what I did today- even if it didn't turn out exactly how it looked in my head. That's part of it, and I got a good laugh from myself today when I peeked into the oven and saw humongous cookies baking before my eyes. As always, take care of yourself, and bake some giant cookies to have a good laugh and a sweet treat. You deserve it! Until next time! <3