The Humble Spoon
I hadn't stopped to read the instructions all the way through because, well, I've lost count how many times I've made chocolate chip cookies from scratch. I'd creamed the butter, beat in the two types of sugars, and was adding my first egg, when I realized that the directions had assumed I was using an electric mixer, and not the strength of my forearms, to do all the work. Am I alone?
The fact is, I was using a well-worn wooden spoon at the time, so much a part of my kitchen utensil collection that I couldn't even tell you where it came from or how it got there. I have two wooden spoons, and I reach for them constantly. Has everyone else forsaken their spoons for the electric beater?
I know there was time when the wooden spoon went out of fashion, when shiny melamine took center stage. And I have to admit that I wouldn't mind this stainless steel number with the purple silicone head to brighten up my kitchen. But I'm not deserting the spoon for the mixer.
I still remember watching my mother creaming butter into submission or beating air into batter--by hand, amazed at the enormous strength in her arms. And I have to admit, I smile to myself every time my daughter gives me that very same amazed look, as I turn ordinary ingredients into extraordinary treats. With nothing more than a simple spoon and my bare hands.
--Tracy Schneider
Maggie on April 16, 2010 at 08:34 AM
I think people go for the mixer thinking it'll save time, but then you have to clean it, which is often a much more daunting task. I also began to notice that people think my cookies taste better when I do it all by hand. (Of course there was no official taste test; it's just that the times I remember positive comments, I remember no mixer.)
Tracy Schneider on April 16, 2010 at 08:45 AM
Maggie, maybe people can taste the extra love you put into them!
Willa on April 19, 2010 at 08:49 PM
I like the texture of my everyday cakes when beaten by hand. A little denser, chewier and yes, I agree, a little more magical. But I have no nostalgia for hand-kneading bread. That's something I just never got spiritual about and give my Kitchen-Aid smooches for every day.