Last weekend I was blurfing (blog surfing) and came across a link to this website, Operation Baking GALS. I immediately contacted them and found out how I could participate. The premise of the group is that we all bake cookies around the same time, and have a target mailing date. Then we send these cookies to soldiers (we get assigned one in particular) and blast them with a LOT of cookies. This way they get to share the goodies. I think it’s a great idea, and I’m honored to be able to help.
The way it works is that when your email is received you are forwarded on to a Team Leader. My Team Leader is Susan and she seems great and has a wonderful blog. I’m thinking that she’s the one that set the September 4th mail date. She also gave me permission to get mine mailed on the 5th, phew. I forgot to buy an apple, and I need the peel for shipping. (To help keep the cookies fresh).
I decided to make my fallback cookie, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip four batches. Two would fit into my stand mixer at a time, so it wouldn’t been too lengthy of a process.
After the first batch is mixed, I feel like it’s a bit dry. I taste it, it’s also a bit salty. I didn’t use my usual organic butter, but I thought that butter should be butter, and I always use salted, so that shouldn’t make a difference, right?
I bake four dozen of these cookies. While the last two dozen are cooling, I start the next batch in the mixer. Well, lo and behold, I realized why the first batch wasn’t just right. I forgot to double the eggs in the recipe. Should have used four, I used two.
Does this happen to anyone else when they double or triple a recipe? It seems to happen to me about one in five times that I multiply a recipe. Sigh. It just makes me sad, as these are for the troops, you know? And I’m out of ingredients! The cookies are completely edible, not even salty once cooked. I thought I’d mark those four dozen as "low cholesterol". What do you think?
This last picture is Tucker, enjoying the peanut butter jar. This guy knows when the jar is no longer useful for the humans. Comes right up, gently takes it in his mouth, and proceeds to make it perfect for the recycling bin. Look in the jar, it’s about five licks from spotless. Thanks, Tuck!
And thanks to the Troops overseas for doing the jobs that they do. It’s my privilege to bake cookies for you. I hope you enjoy them.
I love this idea! As a wife of a US Marine though, I will offer advice. (My own cookie therapy has helped me through a deployment ;o)
Anything that melts is a BAAADDD idea. (Chocolate chips.) They end up as goo by the time they go through the warmer climates in cargo. Also, a simple sheet of wax paper inside the ziploc bag will keep them moist until they arrive… which could be a few weeks.
Best of luck!
I had an absolute disaster from attempting to halve a recipe. I accidentally added the full amount of shortening to some chocolate chip cookies. They weren’t even edible.