Highly Improvised Cookies (Tutorial)

Hello my dudes,

This is how to make the peppermint meltaway cookies I've made before, having realized that there's no peppermint extract in the house and the stores are closed. Enjoy!

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Materials:

• mixing bowl (small)
• spoons (1 large, 2 small)
• baking sheet or something
• oven
• butter (1 cup = 227g)
• powdered sugar (1/2 cup = 60g)
• corn starch (1/2 cup = 60g)
• flour (1-1/4 cup all-purpose = 150 g Type 405)
• something pepperminty
• some sort of frosting
• a desperate need for peppermint cookies

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Procedure:

1. Weigh or measure everything out. I realized later that I did have measuring cups here, but where's the fun in that? Plus they're harder to clean than the plates I used, and not as aesthetic if I do say so myself.

Don't forget the peppermints!

2. Wait for the butter to get to room temperature.

3. Put the butter in the bowl and squish it around with the back of the large (table) spoon, to get some good surface area and kind of oil the bowl. Add the sugar and squish that around until well combined and fluffy. In other words: "cream the butter and sugar". If you have a mixer, this goes a little faster, but the back of the spoon is so much better than any spatula.

4. Add the flour and corn starch to the mix. I combined them separately just because the flour was already in a big enough bowl, but who knows if it's really necessary?

It's a sort of messy process.

5. Chill the dough for 30-60 minutes. Fortunately, there was room in my fridge. Otherwise I'd have had to put it outside!

6. Use two teaspoons to scoop out teaspoon-sized balls and place them on your baking sheet. These will expand so leave some room. My notes say 2 inches between cookies but not even I follow that. I had too much dough for one sheet and much too little for two, so of course I just ate the rest. Didn't feel great after a few bites but to me, it feels better than wasting it. I could've made a big cookie or something but they're crumbly enough as they are.

Okay so maybe those are bigger than a teaspoon.

7. Preheat the oven (350˚F = 175-ish˚C), then put your cookie sheet in and wait until the edges are a little brown on the bottom (10-15 minutes).

They do flatten quite a bit.

8. Remember that you had a peppermint Ritter Sport.

9. Let the cookies cool and frost them. I left them on the baking sheet because it was a reusable paper thing over a metal rack, but I think you're supposed to transfer them to a normal rack without paper after 10 minutes. Anyway before they get too cold, stick a piece of your lucky find (see above) on top and let it melt so you can spread it around.

10. There is no Step 10. You're done. Let them cool or eat them hot and melty, that's your call.

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Commentary:

The mints melt weird and threaten to stick to your teeth but will also melt in your mouth faster than candies. It's a little annoying but hey, peppermint. I get desperate when the only candy canes around here are strawberry flavored. The "frosting" really pulls these together into something beautiful.

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Life Story:

Merry Christmas!

I'm home alone today but that's perfectly fine. My housemate's room is basically a professional recording studio and he's letting me use it, so I'm happy as can be. Of course I miss people, but believe me, I'm an expert at distracting myself. Feel free to video call me if you're out there missing me, though. I'm up at all sorts of crazy hours lately, but if it makes you feel better you can shoot me a message first.

Love you lots! 😘🎄🎅🎉

🎆And in case I don't update by then, happy New Year!🎇