Mother’s Day Cookies
Written By Natalie Hester
Adult Services Librarian
This mother’s day, like many before it, I’m not geographically near my mom. I still sent a card and called, of course, but I know that’s not the same as being there for her in person. So, even though she’s not here to enjoy the fruits of my labor, I turned to an activity integral to my relationship with my mom: baking. As a kid, I was always the kitchen helper. I’ve been baking family birthday cakes since my mom taught me in middle school, and I’ve been following recipes for a lot longer. Being in the kitchen with my mom has always been special, somewhere we worked together towards a common goal. So, in perusing our new cookbooks on display, I came across a recipe for “Better Than Mom’s Chocolate Chip Cookies” and thought I’d give them a try in honor of the occasion.
Now, like most Americans, I’ve been making the recipe on the back of the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip bag for as long as I can remember. I don’t even remember the last time I had to look at the recipe, it’s so ingrained in my muscle memory. So, to boast cookies better than that? I had to see for myself.
The recipe comes from Jessica Secrest’s Of Course It’s Good! Cookbook. There are a few differences between this recipe and the standard I’m used to. For one, the proportions. This has more eggs, flour, and brown sugar. The butter is substituted for shortening as well. I have never used shortening before, so this was a new experience for me, but no more complicated than butter.
Mixing them together was easy, but they do get really thick at the end, so I mixed the chocolate chips in by hand. I started out with smaller cookies but made them bigger after the first batch because they don’t have the spread I’m used to. I think they came out good, though! They have a really nice shape and are probably the prettiest chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. I brought them to work for my fellow library staff to enjoy. They were gone in a day and highly praised.
A few things to note: the recipe Jessica gives is huge. I halved it and it was still more than a regular batch of cookies, so keep that in mind. I also can’t imagine how large of a bowl and mixer you would need to make the full recipe work (it’s over 7 cups of flour!). I followed her advice to err on the side of caution for baking time as well. Because these have shortening and not butter, they don’t brown as much when they’re done, so keeping a timer is important!
Honestly, making these was a little like that episode of Friends where Monica bakes batch after batch, searching for Phoebe’s nostalgic childhood cookie recipe. Sure, they were really good. I might even make them again. But they didn’t taste like my mom’s, like home, like being in the kitchen as a kid with someone who’s known you all your life, taught you everything you know up to that point, and sharing a warm cookie because it “accidentally” broke and now you have to eat it. So, were these better than my mom’s? Maybe on paper. But they didn’t taste like hers, and as much as I think she would like them and tell me they’re great, the truth is that my mom doesn’t even like chocolate that much. We made cookies for me, for the family, for the joy of doing so. All in all, I’m grateful that making these reminded me of being in the kitchen with my mom and our memories together.
So, I hope this mother’s day, anyone who is a mother in any way felt loved and appreciated, and that some of you came in and enjoyed our mother’s day programs at the library! Thank you for reading and connecting with us!
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