Cookies on a Stick

   This last Friday morning I had such a neat baking opportunity!  I made over 2 dozen chocolate chip cookies for the Ronald McDonald House at the Veteran's Hospital location in Portland.  Ronald McDonald House is such a neat organization.  They help provide a "home away from home" for families who have seriously ill children.  The atmosphere at this center is so warm and friendly, and it is indeed a help to those who are going through so much.  If you want to learn more about this organization, please visit the following website:  http://www.rmhcoregon.org/index.php

    I was so blessed to be able to bake goodies in the kitchen at RMH.   I was able to help create more of a home-like atmosphere for the families staying there simply by baking a few batches of home-made cookies for them!  It was such an honor and a privilege to do so.

   As I was mixing up the cookie ingredients in the well-stocked & supplied RMH kitchen, I was able to briefly talk with a couple of the families who were staying at the house.  It was neat to see them open up about their difficult conditions and reasons as to why they were there, and I was glad to be a listening ear as well as a goody maker for them!   As I was gathering the ingredients, there were some children peeking around the corner into the kitchen, eagerly seeing what was being made!  I loved that I was making cookies for the little ones there.  I couldn't wait to see the smiles on their faces as I handed them a warm cookie!

     As I mentioned before, I was planning on making the guests some good 'ol chocolate chip cookies.  Who doesn't like this famous treat?!  You really can't go wrong baking these cookies, but I wanted to do something a little bit differently with the batch.

   I wanted to make them cookies on a stick!!!  I had special cookie pan that had individual flower molds.  In addition, I had popsicle sticks which I was going to place in the dough so that they would bake into the cookie and stay.  So, in the end, I had a flowered shaped cookie on a stick!

   It is fun to see how you can make something ordinary, like a chocolate chip cookie and make something new and different from it.  It may taste the same, but it is sure fun to eat on a stick!

   I want to be able to be more creative in my baking and discover new and different ways of presenting a certain recipe.  In what ways have you been creative in your baking?  Any tips and suggestions would be helpful.  Please, feel free to share!

   So, needless to say, I had a wonderful morning baking for RMH.  I am planning on going there again and spending more time in the kitchen!

   My reward was seeing the little kids eat the cookies, enjoying the new twist of holding the goodie on a popsicle stick!  I even had a little 3 year old boy, with a batman shirt on, come up to me and say "thank you for the cookie", in a cute southern accent.  That made my day!  Also, it was nice to see the adults enjoy the goodies, their worries and troubles off of their mind for just a moment, as they savored the chocolate treats.   It was a great Friday morning at RMH!!!


    Here are a few pictures of the finished product:

Just a way to be creative with a chocolate chip cookie and make it fun!

Chocolate Chip Cookies on a stick!