Chocolate Chip Cookies

I hesitate to even post about this because I failed so miserably at something so easy.  But failure is part of the process, right?  Right.


So I started out with an excellent recipe - my co-worker's brother's recipe - the results of which I've tried before and loved.  And it's chocolate chip frickin' cookies, man.  I mean, how can you screw that up?  Well, I'll tell you.

But not really.

First, this weekend I stocked up on my wraps - saran wrap, aluminum foil, and wax paper.  So when I got to the point where I was supposed to put the cookies on the cookie sheet, Lazy Katie whispered in my ear, "Hey, if you put some wax paper down, you don't have to wash the pan later."  And since I rather like Lazy Katie, that's exactly what I did.  In my defense, the Waxtex box did claim that it was "For [my] microwave and baking needs."  Well, about ten minutes into the baking process, my smoke alarm started to scream "Fire! Fire!" at me, which it does from time to time, so I just put the shower cap over it and continued to watch Jon Stewart on my computer, waiting for my cookies to be done.  About three minutes later, though, I noticed that my apartment was thick with smoke.  Shit!  I took the cookies out of the oven and assessed the damage - the cookies were dark brown around the edges and not-at-all cooked in the centers.  Also, all of the wax paper edges were charred and smoking.  So much for that idea.

My second batch turned out a lot better, actually.  I switched from cookie sheets to a baking stone, and kept an eye on them, making sure to take them out when they looked almost done.  Those ones I had no problem with.


The third batch got the same baking stone treatment as the second, but two seconds into the baking process my brother called, and I forgot all about the cookies.  Result: ummm... a batch more suitable for people who enjoy a real crunchy cookie.

Hard. As. A Rock.

And batch number four.  "This time," I said to myself, "I'm going to pay attention."  But you know me.  I'm not good at just standing around waiting for cookies to bake.  So I went back to my computer and started posting about my zucchini bread adventure from two days ago.  Yeah.  Batch #4 got crispy, too. 


So all in all, I ended up with a total of five awesome cookies and twenty hockey pucks that I'm going to feed to the squirrels (or my co-workers).


Moral of the story: I have to either a) work on my attention-deficit disorder, or b) get a kitchen timer.