I’ve always been fond of cookies. Maybe because they were a rare treat we got from the local bakery only once in a while. We didn’t actually bake any cookies growing up. Our oven was used mostly for roasts.
Somehow, though, we did have a cookie cookbook in our household. I can’t remember how young I was, but I was still too small to “touch the oven” when I had my first baking adventure. I decided to microwave the cookie batter (not sure if you’d call it that since the dough was mostly flour and water). Suffice it to say that those cookies were not a hit—unless you actually wanted to use them to hit somebody for real…
Fast forward to my days haunting the local library and devouring books: I eventually was enticed to read Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen series, probably because of those yummy dessert covers. I soon realized that I enjoyed the mysteries, too. I think I even looked at the recipes (but some were too complex for me to try).
Baking requires almost scientific precision in securing and combining ingredients. Whenever I’ve tried to take a short cut (I’m thinking of you, chocolate silk pie), it’s never worked. So I find it a little funny that I’m writing a culinary cozy series: L.A. Night Market Mysteries. Although I haven’t included any baking recipes in the back of the books…yet. If you want to learn more about my book and other great novels, I’m doing a virtual Summer Mystery Panel with Hannah Mary McKinnon and Alex Segura, moderated by Hank Phillippi Ryan, and hosted by Belmont Books. It’s happening tomorrow, June 15, at 7:30pm EDT and the registration link is here.
I’ve gotten better at baking over time—I rely on easy instructions and follow all the directions carefully. Sometimes, though, I still go out and celebrate with a cookie. For a recent event, someone brought over this batch of cookies:
They were the biggest cookies I’ve ever seen! And I love that Crumbl Cookies rotates their menu weekly so fresh flavors can be introduced. Crumbl has stores in a lot of different locations, so feel free to check if there’s one near you!
Happy cookie [or whatever treat you enjoy] eating!
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