Jan. 3, 2009: Peanut Butter Cookies

I think I've created a minor problem.

My family has developed an attitude of entitlement when it comes to cookies. One recipe into the year, and they're already looking at an empty cookie jar with a "what the #$*@?" expression on their faces.

Cookieless after the snickerdoodles success, James last night put in a cavalier order for his favorites: Peanut Butter Cookies, pg. 184.

So, here I am tonight, writing an unscheduled blog entry about unscheduled cookies.

They were good, but not without incident. Either Martha is crazy or there is a typo in the recipe. Bake for 25 minutes? That seemed excessive, so I put the first pan in for 10 minutes and did the Martha Pan Rotate. They burned! So, the next pan went in for a total of 14 minutes. That worked better.

As usual, they lasted less than 24 hours. Ian ate the last one today, after taunting Christian with "I ate the last cookie!" and waving the last cookie around in his fat little hand.

School starts tomorrow--and I couldn't be more pleased.

I did manage to snag four cookies for my friend Renee. Turns out they're one of her favorites, so I'm glad it worked out this way. She and I escaped this morning for one of our Sunday Morning Coffee runs. It's nice to hit the local Starbucks at 8 a.m., well before even the church crowd. We sink into the purple velvet chairs, put caffeine in our veins and do the catching up that is impossible to do while running from the schoolbus stop to our cars on weekday mornings.

Renee is one of the nicest surprises I've ever had. Not long after moving into this neighborhood six years ago I concluded that I was not going to make any friends here. Most of the moms stayed at home and had perfect hair, perfect manicures, and perfect children (or so they claim). I drive 30 miles into downtown Seattle every day, so I'm not around for playdates. My kids and I are far from perfect. My nails are a mess and my hair without hope. I can't linger at the bus stop with my coffee cup and plan the day's Costco run with the other moms. I felt alone and left out.

After a year or two, Renee and I discovered each other. She'd actually been here all along, but it took awhile for us to recogize the kindred spirit living just across the street! Now we happily share similar attitudes and opinions, along with books, Book Club membership, movies, shopping, martinis, vent sessions and Girlfriends' Trips. We call ourselves the Clique of Two.

Sometimes the best things come along when we least expect it. Every day can bring surprises and unexpected detours. Like Renee and peanut butter cookies. I guess this means I should be open to my family's special requests. They could ask for the one recipe I never planned on making but someday could not do without.