"Just like Mom used to make." (a bit of a rant)

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Mother-In-Law's second-oldest son, J, has been deployed to Kuwait for a while, and he cannot get the same yummy goodness that he can get here at home.

I run an online business where people order cookies from me, I bake them, and I ship them to their locations.

Recently, J requested some Oatmeal Raisin cookies. He did not specify what kind of Oatmeal raisin cookies he wanted, and he did not specify who he wanted to make the cookies.
MIL requested that I make some oatmeal raisin cookies for him. I'm more than willing to do that. So I researched the internet for the most highly rated oatmeal raisin recipe, and then made a couple of changes to the recipe based on the reviews.
Then I baked the cookies. They smelled sooooo good and they tasted wonderful and were delightfully chewy!

MIL tried one of the cookies and agreed they were very good, but not the kind that she wanted me to make. She wanted me to make the recipe on the back of the Quaker oatmeal box. (Which is completely different from the recipe that I used. It is bland and dry compared to the ones I made.) She clarified that she wanted me to make cookies that were "Just like Mom used to make" so J could have nostalgic feelings of home.

But if she wants cookies that are "Just like Mom used to make", why doesn't she just bake them herself? She is the Mom, after all.

My cookies are always round and perfectly cooked with golden-brown edges and chewy centers. But hers are always irregularly shaped, burnt dark around the edges, and very dry and hard.
(I discovered this after she decided to "help me out" in the kitchen one day. Completely different cookies, using the SAME batch of dough that I used! The SAME recipe! My fiancé confirmed that her cookies were always like that.)

Therefore, mine are completely different from hers. If I were to bake them, they would not be "Just like Mom used to make."


Am I wrong in this train of thought?

Cleverkitten,

Can't you send him both?

Some for comforting (childhood and mum's memories) and some (yours) for the taste and the friendship?

But I don't know either why his mother asked you to do them. Didn't she have an idea of how you're a good cooker?

I would be more than willing to send both kinds of cookies, but MIL wants me to bake and send only the cookies that she wants.

She brags to all her friends about how I'm such a wonderful baker, so I guess she does believe that I'm a good cook...

But in order for the cookies to be "Just like Mom used to make", she would have to bake them herself, which she is unwilling to do for some odd reason.

Last edited by CleverKitten on 06 Aug 2009, 10:58 am, edited 1 time in total.

She doesn't want to bake, but she wants him to think she did. It's like the hostess who displays a bakery pie on her own pie stand before cutting it and then accepts the compliments from her guests. I agree with the previous advice. Send him a batch of each with greetings from both you and his mom. She's annoying, but he's the one who's important, here.

Yes, I agree that J is the most important. That's why I am conflicted with "Just like Mom used to make." I cannot make cookies the same way she does. She does them differently somehow, always has, and I'm sure that J would notice the difference.

Then, knowing his mother, he'll maybe have a good laugh thinking of her and "her" cookies
And a good laugh is for sure as good as cookies.

Aghh, I guess I'll just have to bake these "Just like Mom used to make" cookies, even though there is no way they will be "Just like Mom used to make".

Then maybe, J will think, "Hmm these cookies are better than I remember!" But will the nostalgia be there? I doubt it. They won't be the same. But they will be good, I hope.

Well, I just read my posts over again, and now I feel so dumb!

J did not specify what kind of cookies he wanted, so it shouldn't matter whether they were "Just like Mom used to make" or not!

Geez, I really need to pay attention to my own details!

It may also be that she knows that they'll turn out better if you bake them. If it's any consolation, I use the Quaker Oats recipe fairly often myself and it can turn out well. You have to watch the time and oven temp and maybe make bigger drops than they say to on the box -- recipes are always a bit stingy with the cookie size, I think.

Does anyone know if the recipient actually liked mom's cookies? He may not like them but is afraid to tell his mother.

Send both, don't tell her.

I concur, send both. He'll then get tasty cookies regardless of if he likes his Mum's cookies.

And also I have already decided to just bake them and shut up. Next time, I will not accept any more "favors."