high-bar baking

In college the boys liked to use the sports expression, “Go hard in the paint.” It’s derived from basketball. She says, like an anthropologist. The rectangle under the basket is painted, and is thus called the paint. Go hard in it is putting forth whatever effort you have to do in order to get rebounds, box the opponent out, make shots, drive to the basket, et cetera. 

In the words of the Dos Equis guy, I don’t always go hard in the paint. But when I do….

I was send to Grace Hopper for work again this year (it’s not what you know, it’s who you know), and I wanted to do something special. I have always said I’m not above bribery, and I’m not. Would it be a little bit crazy? Yes. Could I pull it off? 

Have you met me?

So I made individual cookie baggies for everyone that work sent, 32 people or so. Double batches of three recipes — Sarah’s sugar cookies, brown sugar cookies, and chocolate sugar cookies. That’s not as impressive as it sounds; I had to made six batches of something, and it would have been maddening for it to be six iterations of the exact same thing. 

My freezer was worked to capacity trying to store them (so I didn’t have to make them all at once; a classic Christmas cookie problem), and my suitcase was tested, shall we say. But we got them all to fit. And folks were astonished. One girl from HR thought I had baked them after arriving in Philly? … In the hotel kitchen? 

It’s frighteningly easy, sometimes, to make someone’s day. And sometimes it’s not frighteningly easy, but it’s certainly doable. People love cookies. More than that, people love being thought of. That’s what you’re really doing. 

We’re all out here trying to feel special. 

Plus, it didn’t exactly hurt my street cred. 

I’m calculating. Sue me. Doesn’t negate the kindness.