30 Day Project: Day 1 (Aroma)-Spilling The Beans

I have a secret to tell you.  Yes, today I am spilling the beans.  No, I didn’t win the lottery on Saturday and no, I don’t have six toes. If it were only that simple.  See, the truth of the matter is, I am baking challenged.   As a stay at home mom of two boys, I am a failure when it comes to home-baked goodies.  You know the mother in your son or daughter’s class that makes the pumpkin shaped cookies and the owl cupcakes for the fall party? I dislike her. Well, maybe dislike is a strong word. Perhaps I’m just jealous of her ability to make flour and sugar and frosting look like a baker’s delight that every 10 year-old wants!

Sure, I can add two eggs to a box of blueberry muffin mix and add that special dash of water with the best of them.   I’ve got that down.  But, if you ask me to whip up a batch of my special chocolate chip cookies, I’d probably just laugh at you.   I’d have to buy the baking soda or powder cause I just don’t have it nor know off the top of my head which one you use and I KNOW I’d have to buy flour.  That just isn’t in my pantry.

I saw that!  You just shook your head in the “I can’t believe she doesn’t have flour” kind of way.  I saw you.  I told you I had a secret to tell you.  It’s now out there for the whole world to know.

I have a cookie tray, but it’s used more for frozen pizzas or ready-made cookie dough and it’s not one of those fancy ones that’s for sure.    Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a good homemade cookie like the rest of you and pumpkin bread and homemade bread, but I just can’t seem to muster up the desire to make a mess and stir and blend and search for the right shade of orange to frost the pumpkin cookies with.   (Yes, I know you mix yellow and red to get the orange, but that’s just one too many steps for me.)

I must have received that gene from my Grandma because she made toast and diet coke for breakfast and that was “making” breakfast!  No lie.  My mother, on the other hand, loves to bake and has 10,000 little ramekins and beautiful little measuring devices for all the sweet goodness she bakes.  It’s a good thing too, otherwise my children may have grown up thinking Oreos were the only type of cookie available. 

Today, I am going to challenge myself and try to actually make cookies for my family. (Yes, I’ve done it before, but it was a long time ago.) I’m up for a challenge (I think).  First things first, though.  I have to stop at the store and pick up a sack of flour and some baking soda or powder. Oh heck, I’ll just buy both. That way I’ll be ready for anything!