That’s the way, as they say, the cookie crumbles.
And we really should have known better. We remembered too late, my Sweetie and I, that this particular cookie recipe is NOT a keeper.
Cute in theory, it lacks a great deal in practicality – the Candy Cane Cookie. Far more labor-intensive than most of the Christmas cookies we bake, this little gem requires some painstaking extra steps, such as the separation of dough into two equal measures – so that one half can be made red with dye.
Once chilled for a couple of hours, the dough is rolled out into twin “ropes” and then braided and shaped. The idea is to form colorful sticks-with-crooks, resembling actual candy canes. But the dough tends to be rather fussy, resisting manipulation…refusing to adhere…and often breaking when bent. All that, BEFORE the raw-and-shaped-dough goes into the oven.
When the cookies come OUT of the oven…well, that’s when things turn really nasty. Even after an extended period of cooling, the gentlest nudge of the spatula tends to crack the cookie in two. Or three.
Granted, each sweet little morsel still tastes the same as an intact cane. But a great deal of the recipe’s presumptive charm is lost when a full 2/3rds of the batch crumbles before packing.
NOTE TO SELF: Let’s cross this cookie recipe off the list.
And like I said: We’ve been through this before. A couple of years back, we tried making these same cookies when our Granddaughter was in the house for a sleepover – thinking that all the cute colors and braiding would make for a fun little Advent do-together. Alas, we failed to record the faults we encountered then…so we were doomed to repeat them, this time with our two Grandsons offering the assist.
I guess we weren’t listening in Advents-Past to the exhortation we’ve heard from St. Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians. “Test everything,” he writes. “Retain what is good.”
On the other hand, maybe we’re not REALLY so foolish, my Sweetie and I. After all, Paul’s message seems to presume things won’t always go perfectly. Some brokenness is to be expected, both in cookies and in life. And yet, Paul’s bigger message is full of encouragement, brimming with expectation:
Rejoice always…In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Yes, it’s true: there’s joy to be found…even when life hands you a batch of failed crooked cookies. For we’ve been promised a Savior, one whose coming was clear to the prophet Isaiah…and whose impact would be remarkable:
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the LORD…
Even a truly Cute Crew can’t keep this cookie recipe from crumbling.
O Wisdom,
Lord and Ruler,
Root of Jesse,
Key of David,
Rising Sun,
King of the Nations,
Emmanuel.
Come, Lord Jesus!
Let us pause now…to recall that we are in the presence of the Holy & Merciful One.
IHS
With Us Still 
It looks like Gerri mastered the technique, perhaps it’s the operator…I take it the recipe is the same as the attached? Have a blessed day Grandpa!
Joe Vilmain
Developer-Activator-Belief-Responsibility-Arranger
I am challenged in the kitchen, true. But this recipe is hopeless…trust me!