Smart Cookie

Wednesday evenings are usually male bonding night for MacGyver and his K of C friends.  This means that I get picked up before 7 pm so that he can make it to their 7:30 pm sharing.  He'd be out of the house until after 11 pm, so I'd be on my own after the kids were tucked into bed.  Since I knew this ahead of time, I had called MyGirl earlier and asked her to bring out the butter and some eggs.  I had decided I was going to get some baking done.

We started after dinner, at about 8 pm.  MyGirl helped by getting the ingredients we needed for the cookies and by measuring out the ingredients she could handle.  I did the mixing since I didn't want her getting dirty before going to bed.  She watched as the oatmeal and the white chocolate chips she had measured got mixed into the batter.  Those were the last items on the list.

 

It was getting late, so I told MyGirl that she had to go upstairs and sleep.  Before she went up, she asked if she could do one more thing - scoop out some of the dough onto the cookie sheet.  No problem.   She got to make two rows of cookies before she went upstairs.

I proceeded to scoop out the rest of the cookie dough and stuck the first batch into the oven.  While the first batch of cookies were baking and the second batch was being prepared, RD came downstairs.

"RD,"  I said, "it's almost 9:00.  You should be sleeping."

"I know, Mom."

"Have you brushed your teeth?"

"Not yet, Mom."

"Why haven't you brushed your teeth?  And why are you still awake?"  I asked.  

These, of course, were rhetorical questions.  Knowing this young man and the way he thinks (and the way his stomach thinks), I already knew the answers.  I  guess I just wanted to hear it straight from the horse's mouth.

RD spilled the beans with a twinkle in his eye.  "I came down to check if there were already cookies ready.  I didn't brush my teeth just in case the cookies were ready."

(Who ever said it was hard to find smart cookies?)

How could I resist his charm?  All I could do was smile.

I checked the timer and said that the first batch would be out of the oven in 6 minutes.  And that yes, he could have some cookies before going to bed.

As soon as the cookies were out of the oven but not quite after they were cool enough to eat, RD got the first cookie.  He used a fork to pick the cookie up and had a big plate (relative to the cookie size) to catch the crumbs.  When he took a bite, all he could say was, "This is hot."

But I guess, after his 3rd cookie, I could tell that they were good even without him saying so.

"Time to go upstairs,"  I reminded him as the second batch of cookies were coming out of the oven.

He took a look at the new arrivals and said, "These cookies look better than the first batch.  Want me to check?"

I don't know how he managed to convince me but somehow as the final batch was getting moved from the bottom to the top rack, RD was still munching away at cookies on the table.

"Out!  Out!  Go to sleep now.  No more cookies for you."  

(But in my mind, I knew that he had outsmarted me.  If he had come down with brushed teeth, he knew that I would have sent him off to bed straight out.  You have won this round, young rascal.  I shall not be outwitted again.)

OATMEAL COOKIES

3/4 c butter

1/2 c white sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

1 egg

1 t vanilla

1 c flour

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

3 c oatmeal

3/4 c chocolate chips, raisins, Reese's pieces (optional)

Bake at 350 F for 12 - 15 minutes.

These are the ingredients from memory.