Muffin-Top and the Great Cookie Co-Op

Although I am a terrible cook, I am a pretty good baker. And, while cooking scares me, I actually enjoy baking. Mostly because I enjoy sugar and fats. But also because I find baking – in small amounts, mind you – to be a relaxing, fulfilling activity.

The Great Experiment has allowed me more time and energy to devote to baking. A little too much time, perhaps, as I've found myself itching to bake cookies whenever I happen to be bored. And, while I love that our house therefore always smells good and that my family always has access to delicious treats, all this baking has had a few negative side effects: namely, its effect on our sugar and butter bills, and its effect on my waistline. For although I strive to embrace the idea that “Big Is Beautiful”, gaining six pounds in six weeks may be a little extreme.

So I decided to invite some of my friends to join “The Cookie Co-Op”. For $20 a month to cover ingredients, each friend gets about two dozen home-made cookies a week, delivered to their door. This allows me to bake, keep down on my grocery bill for said baking, and then not eat all the afore-mentioned baking. Plus, Mr. C and I get out on an expedition to deliver the baked products. And – believe me – with a two year old, expeditions are always a good idea.

We'll see how long the co-op lasts. I only want to do it so long as it stays fun, after all. But the chocolate cream sandwich cookies I just baked for my first delivery look pretty darn good, if you ask me . . . and I'm proud of myself for only eating one.

So far.