I had taken the time

to make MY cookies, I wouldn't have my house smelling of burnt bag cookies.

So, I have decided that there are four basic types of home bakers (home cooks for that matter too). There are the from scratch bakers/cookers -usually this is me, cakes are almost always an exception I mean sometimes you gotta let Betty do what she does best!- there are the from a box/bag bakers and cookers-these require you to add perishable items to the "box"- there are the "break and bakers" or "frozen mealers" where all you have to do is make sure the oven is at the right temp, or microwave for the correct amount of time. Lastly there are those who simply are at their culinary best with cash, check or card in hand- in other words this is not their expertise so leave it to someone whose it is.

All this being said I like to make my chocolate chip cookies for people whenever I can, so when I saw that the new neighbor across the street was going to start moving in I immediately thought cookies. I get home and I have no chocolate chips-none! This is a rare occurrence but I forgot to re-up after making them for my husbands fishing trip last weekend. Oh no, what to do I had my mind set on warm gooey chocolate chip cookies to bring over. Then I see it a bag of chocolate chip cookie mix-true it may be kinda old but I was sure it would work. The bag says 20 min to homemade cookies-perfect!! And that is about the last time that thought went through my head. First off it's supposed to make 3 doz-ha! Exactly 2 doz. Then I put the in the 375 oven and set the timer for 7 min-always best to start at the lowest time. Um about 5 min in I can smell it- these are going to burn. I open the oven and they are sooo not done, they haven't spread but you can see the bottoms are on their way to a lovely brown-not the golden brown and delicious type. What could I do but hope to heck it was my imagination. Alas, it was not true they are burned. And while they do not look terribly burnt they did not spread and are raw in the middle with the taste of burnt cookie-and I am never one to complain about an underdone cookie, I love them, but they should not taste burnt I mean that just makes no sense. So while I the from scratch cookie baker can make good cookies if I do say so myself, it looks as though I fail with the bag...

...but I think I have some boxed brownies in the cupboard...