Ben quit his job last week (I know, I know, another story for another blog post) but in any case his last day was this past Thursday and I wanted him to have an appropriate send off: cookies! I had this great idea to use someone else's great idea to make petri dish cookies to celebrate Ben's work at the CDC. Please see Not So Humble Pie who made BEAUTIFUL petri dish cookies. I just knew mine would turn out as well.
I made from scratch old fashioned sugar cookies. Then I made royal icing for the agar (a full bottle of red food coloring...is that bad for you?) and decorative bacterial streaking. Benny provided the appropriate muscle I needed for sifting the seven cups of confectioners sugar (which ended up breaking our sifter). But the dough was delicious and the icing colorful and sweet. And then finally, decorating with my fancy pastry tool: a Kroger brand plastic bag.
Now get excited about the reveal...
Now, I know if that you have never taken a microbiology class you will have no idea what this cookie is supposed to look like and then again, even if you have taken such a class the decoration is probably still indiscernible.
After the cookies turned out so poorly I was devastated: and only half because I didn't have anything to send with Benny to work. I was also sorry that my come-back blog post (after a three week hiatus) was not going to proclaim my prodigiousness as a baker.
The funny thing is, Ben did take two cookies to work to our friend June because she likes sweets even if they're not pretty. And guess what, they were a big hit at the office! All of the scientists knew what they were! Unfortunately, with only two cookies there was only looking no tasting.
So, next time I bake themed cookies for Ben's going away party at work, I will send the cookies with him no matter what they look like!
Those cookies look JUST like the agar plate in microbio! You are way too hard on yourself, they look amazing! I like your conclusion though - send them no matter what they look like, as long as they taste good! :-)
ReplyDeleteAw, those are cute, Carissa! I think it's a great and especially thoughtful idea. I don't know that I'd ever have the patience to attempt something like that :)
ReplyDeleteWithout a microbiologist's eye, they look like fun Christmas ornaments to me. Which I think is AWESOME!
At least you didn't leave out all the butter (I think it was butter) like we did that one time... And anyway, I think they look fantastic! And you're a cute wifey!
ReplyDelete