high-bar baking

I found it very, very pleasing last night how much my new little dance crew appreciated the cookies. One of them even remarked on it: “Is this making you very happy, how much we’re enjoying these?” Yes, yes it was. It was also personally satisfying that someone finally recognized how legendary the brown sugar cookies are, especially in a head-on match with the chocolate ones. I’ve been saying it this whole time! Did I sort of make up the chip on my shoulder about those? Absolutely. But it was still satisfying. 

They all alluded to a repeat appearance of those in the future, but I don’t want to play the hits. I know it’s got to be exhausting for Kristin Chenoweth to continue to perform Popular after all these years, even though it’s the only thing we want to hear. Probably especially because it’s the only thing we want to hear. Luckily, I have the privilege of being neither famous nor wildly in demand. I can make whatever I want. Sometimes that’s a classic, and sometimes it’s something completely new. 

Today was new. I’d meant to make Sarah’s Scotcheroos in the past, but when I bought the Rice Krispies they somehow all disappeared. Into my cereal bowl. Weird. 

But now I’ve managed to keep a box intact for enough of the afternoon to get through the recipe. Although an extra run to the store was sadly necessary; they take a lot of corn syrup, kids. The bottle gathering dust in the back of your cupboard may not actually be enough, and you should check that before mentally writing up the timeline of your afternoon. 

I was very happy with these. It’s fun to take a day trip into the nostalgia culture of a different suburbia. I’ve never had Scotcheroos before, and I’ve never been to Minnesota, but these were delightful. I’d recommend slicing the butter (I know, it’s only three tablespoons, but still) before putting it into the hot sugar mixture, just because it takes forever to melt and it’s less annoying to help it along preemptively. 

I was pleasantly surprised when I went to mix the hot stuff with the cereal; the recipe makes such a big deal about greasing everything (which I did! I’m responsible sometimes!) that I was expecting an ordeal. I made popcorn balls once, and that was a stressful disaster getting it all to come together. On top of that, it’s not 1953 and nobody actually wants to eat popcorn balls anyway, so just learn from me and spare yourself the trouble. But the Scotcheroos mixed up together without any fuss and went into the pan quite nicely. The chocolate took forever to cool, though, and I finally threw the pan in the fridge so I could eat one sometime this year. 

I don’t usually bother with the knife-in-hot-water slicing trick, but this time I indulged for the pictures (you’re welcome). What a shocker, it actually works. Thank goodness I only had to make four cuts, though, as I do not have the patience to do the heating and the washing and the drying all day. On that note, dividing the 8×8 pan into ninths makes for bars that are entirely too large. Also, next time I’m going to do this in a 9×9, because the 8×8 was filled all the way to the top, and I’m perfectly happy to trade slightly smaller bars for slightly more of them.

Here’s to a new hit.