Bumps In The Road

Picture this: You're sitting in your room doing homework. Or you're doing something of equal value - like teaching English to poverty-stricken children in Madagascar or potty-training your baby emu - for those of you who have graduated or are simply "too cool for school". Suddenly, your stomach lets out a low rumble. You jump and look around. No, it wasn't the emu growling because you stepped on his foot, it was your stomach. You're starving.

That feeling of "starvation" is one that many people experience. Of course, as Americans, we can do something about that. We can walk right into the kitchen and grab whatever our grubby, little hands can reach. Unfortunately, this exact experience happened to me (But it was the lame one with the homework - my emu's already potty-trained.). As a BIT (Baker-in-Training), I can't just grab whatever I find in the kitchen. I had to make cookies!

I wasn't going to get too fancy. All I did was follow the recipe on the back of the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip bag. Because those things are amazing. But I did run into my very first bump in the road when I realized that we didn't have any chocolate chips lying around the house. That was a simple fix - I used dark chocolate M&Ms instead! Those are much prettier. I'm such a sucker for bright colors. But that was that - so I thought. Then I pulled out the brown sugar container to find it completely empty. Crazy, right? Who would do such a thing? I couldn't give up on my cookies now. That's when my mom piped in. She told me about something that changed my life forever. Do you want me to tell you what she told me? Are you sitting down? 'Cause you need to brace yourself for this.

You can make your own brown sugar.

Say what? Huge. I know.

I'm even going to go as far as to tell you the super-secret recipe that I clearly didn't just hop on the internet and look up... It's kinda difficult, so down beat yourself up if it doesn't work out the first few times you try it. Just take a deep breath and believe in yourself. Ready?

• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp. Molasses

Blend both ingredients together with a hand mixer or a fork.

Like I said, don't be hard on yourself if it doesn't turn out right. Those two ingredients can be tricky to combine. But if you're a master chef and can make this two-ingredient recipe, then you're in business. Put it into your cookies! I cannot believe the taste difference it made. These cookies were better than Chick-fil-A's fries. And that's saying something. I kinda plan to never use store-bought brown sugar again.

I really wish I still had some cookies left. But alas, they didn't last long. No food ever does in my family.