Dear Lillie: Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodle Cookies

Most of the time, I say I don't like baking. But occasionally, you might hear me say that I love to bake. While it may seem like a discrepancy, what I really mean is: I used to love baking with my mom when I was a child. As an adult, I don't like finding random ingredients in the back of the cupboard, washing all the extra dishes, and cleaning up the mess it creates. What I do love is licking the bowl and eating the baked good right after it comes out of the oven, when it's still warm and gooey and the chocolate bits or chunks are still liquid. (There'd better be chocolate inside whatever we're baking, or it doesn't count.)

So, whenever I make anything now, it is usually a mix. I used this recipe on Crazy for Crust that I came across on Pinterest that turns basic snickerdoodle cookies (because, why?) into a worthwhile investment of your time (or your mom's if you can still manage to get her to bake for you) by simply adding chocolate. I used Betty Crocker snickerdoodle cookie mix and followed the instructions on the back, but added the chocolate bits from the recipe and chilled the dough. If you're into the process of baking as much as the end result, I'd go ahead and make the long version, it's probably even better! :)

They were delicious straight out of the oven, but because I overcooked them a little and I used a lot of the cinnamon-sugar coating, they were crunchier than I liked once they cooled off. I think the dry coating contributed to that extra crunch. Next time, I'll use less of that, and more of the oven timer. (I overcooked them because until a couple days later, I didn't know how to use the oven timer and thought it was broken. I mean, we've only been living here for 11 months...no, the kitchen is not my domain.)

If you're not a baker, but someone asks you to try to be a grown up and contribute something to a family gathering this holiday season, I think this is a good knockoff that no one will suspect. (Unfortunately, now my cover is blown...)

When I show my handwriting, I feel like it begs to be said: good handwriting does NOT run in our family. Jenni is the exception...And it wouldn't be worth mentioning, except when your sister writes like a TYPEWRITER, it makes yours look that much more slovenly...

You've probably guessed that this is a store-bought pie. (Thankfully, my husband didn't seem to care where it came from...and it was locally made, just not in this kitchen!):