He Runs, I Cook

Things don’t always go to plan in life, and the same can be true of cookies.   First of all, I had planned to write this post two weeks ago and life got in the way.

I’ve been building a portfolio career, hanging out for school holidays, and generally enjoying life – but I’ve been busier than ever.  So busy in fact, that this post is wayyyyy overdue.  It is way easier to stick to a timeline and routine when life is planned out and routine.  But, for the last month or so, we (or I) have been wildly out of my routine.  It hasn’t been a bad thing but it’s been an adjustment.   I’m doing things I love but I’m on my own timeline, and with both Gary and I at home, not working full time, even the normal structure of Thomas’ day don’t always set my schedule.  So it’s been a good but weird few weeks.

Two weeks ago,  I tried something new: sables, or sablés. I’m not really sure how you pronounce them. To be honest, they didn’t turn out. I tried to make them, and I knew that they weren’t going to turn out from the beginning. I had a bad feeling about them- They were too crumbly. They just weren’t right, so I tried to fix them, and in fixing them, I probably made them worse. Which sometimes is a metaphor for life.  I thought I was doing the right thing, but it was taking me further and further from things working out as I wanted.  

There are three lessons:  

1.  When you’re going through something tough, keep going and keep using your best judgement.  Eventually you’ll get to the end/a result.
2. Sometimes doing less isn’t a bad thing – just stop messing with it and it will be ok.
3. Failure isn’t final– especially when it comes to cookies.  Even a bad cookie is still a cookie.

In this case, I dared to do something new- and it didn’t work out but at least I tried, or as Teddy Roosevelt would say, at least I “dared greatly.”  I was the woman in the cookie arena and I fell short (in my own eyes) but at least I tried.  I told people that it wasn’t my best work, but to be honest, the cookies were still eaten and appreciated..

There was no harm in trying something new.  I mean, yes, it was a bit of a failure.  But at least I failed doing something that I was passionate about. Not everything’s going to succeed in life. Not every cookie’s gonna be a winner, and that’s okay. Every now and again, we have to fail something to really appreciate the things that we do well. 

Thinking of Teddy Roosevelt and his “Man in the Arena” speech….Who cares what the critics say? Who cares about people who always point out what’s wrong with things or what’s bad about things? They’re not the people who do things. It’s always easier to tell someone their idea is bad, what they’ve done is wrong, rather than to do it yourself. Also, people appreciate the effort. The cookies weren’t the best this week, but people appreciated that they were still cookies. I could have chucked them all in the bin, turned up empty-handed, and said, “You know what, I didn’t make cookies, but I tried and I dared greatly, and even though it didn’t work out, I’m still proud of what I did.”

So this week, I’m returning back to something tried and true: Mexican hot chocolate cookies. They’re always a crowd pleaser, and they worked out well.  I also did Peanut Butter Swirl cookies which I made for the first time but were also winners.  Both cookies were from the New York Times’ Cookies cookbook.  Both were excellent.  

So this is a redemption story, failure wasn’t final and it’s not the critic that counts. At least that’s what I have to keep reminding myself, because I am my own biggest critic. 

This week, we’re going to do Alison Roman’s Salted Butter and Chocolate Chunk Shortbread and Matcha Neapolitan Sugar Cookies.