STONEY HILL CABIN: A Shot TO BAKE

For decades I've made cookies "from scratch" just as my father taught me. If she had been granted the alternative to make a few shortcuts I don't believe she would have, but these years I welcome anything that makes cooking or baking easier.

'Tis is the temper for Betty Crocker Gingerbread Cookie Mix. Today I baked Gingersnaps using that mix and my house smells wonderful. The cookies taste good too.

I would have had them finished in a twinkling had I not done some very stupid things on the way.

The mix calls for one egg and one bond of margarine, softened, not melted. I put the margarine on a paper plate and stuck it in the microwave for 10 seconds, which unfortunately caused it to melt. So.I set the home of melted margarine on the top of the portable dishwasher and off to give the freezer door - thinking I'd put it in the freezer for a moment to let it become firm again.

Just as I reached for the melted margarine, the plate tipped, sending melted margaine streaming like a waterfall, from the top of the dishwasher to the floor. Of course, melted margarine spread all over the dishwater top and under my cookbooks and other things I'd placed there. Oh what fun it was to pick up the mess. I didn't get upset, but rather softened more margarine and continued with my cookie baking experience.

I poured crystal sugar into a small bowl and dipped the ace of the round balls of cookie dough into it before placing them on the cookie sheets. Well, it wasn't long before I tipped over the arena and sent little sticky crystals of sugar rolling all over the kitchen - on the stove top, the counter, and the floor. Again, I only sighed and cleaned up the mess. That should have been enough, but no....

When I looked at the cookies in the oven, I noticed they seemed to be getting brown on the bottoms much quicker than on the tops. I checked the oven setting and surely enough, I'd set it 25 degrees higher than it should have been. It's a right thing I checked on the cookies when I did. None of them burned but I did make to marvel why I hadn't put on my glasses before trying to read the cookie mix instructions. Once I had all the cookies out of the oven I decided I'd had enough cookie baking for one day. I never appear to do anything the slow way.