28- I don’t know wine could do that!

The February theme for Cookie Thursday is a Thing is Baking the Baking Pantry. I was pulling eggs out to make cookies when I noticed a nearly full bottle of wine in the bottom of the fridge.

In this household we don’t drink. It’s not that we are opposed, more that I can’t stand the taste.

This bottle of wine has been in the fridge, with only one glass out of it, since Christmas! Don’t worry it has been sealed the entire time.

I mean, I gave it the sniff test.

This means I had a nearly full bottle of Rosé wine that I needed to do something with. Pouring it down the sink was eh, I think I can do better.

Cookie Thursday is a Thing has always been about experimentation. I was contemplating the bottle of wine and I wondered if I could make it into syrup that I could then add to cookie dough.

And I can!

I started by making a syrup out of the Rosé wine.

The ratio that I used was a 3 c wine to 1 c sugar. I boiled the mixture for 20 minutes over medium heat until it was reduced by a third.

I did taste it. Tasted like sweeter wine. Not that I know anything about wine, despite growing up in Northern California in the Wine Bucket.

The next step was deciding what kind of cookie was most forgiving and could be used as a base.

I considered the tried and true Toll House recipe but then I decided that the best cookie to experiment on would be an oatmeal cookie base. I thought that the oatmeal would be sturdier.

And it WORKED!

Since I was adding almost 2 entire cups of wine syrup to the batter, I also added an additional 1/2 c flour.

This part I just guessed.

The resulting cookies are subtly rose wine flavored.

They could have been more cohesive and thicker.

But I am happy with the output.

Cookie Thursday 1/30/2025- sourdough chocolate chip cookies

This is it. The last week of the Cookie Thursday is a Thing extravaganza.

I’ve gone through some CTIAT is a thing background details. I’ve gone through some of CTIAT secrets. And I made 5 weeks of the department’s favorite cookies of the past 10 years.

There was one of the original cookies with the Twix cookie.

There was the original experiment cookie- the Jalapeno chocolate chip cookie.

There was the second favorite cookie- the pepper jelly cheddar thumbprint.

There was the crust cookie and the story of how CTIAT got its name.

Today’s cookie was a sourdough chocolate chip cookie.

I’ve done this in the past. Heck, I’ve done all of these cookies before. What earns it a spot on the list is the interplay of how the sourdough changes the cookie consistency.

The cookie is crisp but still chewy.

Alchemy!

That means magic!

Last time the addition of sourdough waste added a different texture to the cookie. As it did today.

What I did differently was that I left the dough at room temperature so that it could ferment. I left it for 6 hours before baking, covered of course. This definitely changed the consistency of the dough, giving it a fluffy appearance. Some might say that cookie dough is already fluffy. It is the only way I can describe it.

Tomayto-tomahto.

Spoiler, I had a cookie for breakfast.

Now for the final secret of CTIAT.

I began CTIAT as a morale project for the evening shift of the operating room. This is still how I advertise and talk about it. I freely give out any recipe when asked. I genuinely think that weekly cookies, no matter the time elapsed, has an impact on morale.

I see it every time I walk into the lounge and its dedicated drawer is open, usually by people interested in the cookies. I hear it when people stop me to tell me their favorite cookies. I see it when I pick up the empty container the next day. There are weeks that people don’t know about the cookies or the OR is too busy. But that is when they need the cookies most.

However, what you might now know is that it has an impact on my morale. I don’t even have to see people enjoying the cookies. It is the act of planning and creation that is important to me.

The weekly date with my kitchen doesn’t hurt.

Cookie Thursday 1/23/25- pepper jelly cheddar thumbprints

The Cookie Thursday is a Thing show must go on.

Especially in this crappy month/week/year/administration.

Especially for the 10th-anniversary celebration of CTIAT.

The cookie for today is the first savory cookie that I made. I had to persuade people to try them. I told them that these were really similar to a cheese straw, with just a touch of spice.

People were skeptical.

They had never had a savory cookie before.

Not a cookie, more of a cracker I said.

Finally, my boss tried them and then tried to take the entire batch into their office. Seriously. I had to cut them off.

Over time, these became known as one of the bright spots for CTIAT. Easy enough with a food processor and simple ingredients.

This was the cookie that allowed me to expand peoples’ minds as to what might constitute a treat.

It doesn’t always have to be sweet.

Savory has a home here at Cookie Thursday is a Thing too.

This was also the cookie that struck off my recipe shackles.

Let me explain.

All my life I’ve been taught to read a recipe carefully and follow it. Including oven temperature and baking time. Also including how to handle the dough.

The original recipe called for rolling out the dough and carefully cutting out the shapes. I don’t have time for that. Instead, I wondered what would happen if I made small balls instead, or used a cookie scoop. And it worked! My mind was blown. I saved myself at least 45 minutes that day. For a workaholic, that is a big time savings.

Of course, Cookie Thursday is a Thing being a place where I experiment, I got right to work. And started breaking culinary rules left and right.

I experimented with lower oven temperatures. This meant I had to be able to tell when to take the cookies out as they baked at different times with the lower temperatures.

I experimented with higher oven temperatures. This also meant that I had to adjust the baking times.

Around this time I got really loose when explaining baking times to people. I probably caused a lot of frustration. Because people want concrete answers about how hot an oven and how long to bake. They would go away frustrated when I said until whatever you are baking is done. Because all ovens are different and a lot of different things can impact baking time.

I experimented with different cookie sheet metals. Yes, baking times are different depending on the color of the cookie sheet. Because, science.

I experimented with different additions to cookies, trying to see what went well together and what didn’t. An early success here is using orange flavoring oil, white chocolate chips, and dried cranberries.

The baking world opened wide. And my recipe collection got unruly. If I recall, this was when I decided to theme the months to make CTIAT easier for me. I could be more economical in my ingredient sourcing.

The biggest takeaway is that a treat doesn’t need to be sweet.

And my long-held baking rules are just suggestions.

Cookie Thursday 1/16/25-Twix Cookies

I did a very unscientific poll on which flavor of Twix Cookies I would do. Are you team caramel? Or team peanut butter?

Out of the 10 people I asked, nine said caramel.

Sorry, peanut butter person.

This is the 3rd Thursday in the 10th-anniversary celebration of Cookie Thursday is a Thing, and the cookie that was voted on as one of the top 5 cookies of CTIAT was the Twix Cookie.

You see, there is a bit of science to my madness. I chose this cookie to be the third on the list because that way there is a break between the jalapeno chocolate chip and the pepper jelly cheddar thumbprints. And the last cookie has the longest preparation time.

The Twix Cookie was one of the original cookies of CTIAT. In fact, I don’t think it was called CTIAT yet.

It started, as CTIAT so often does, with me seeing a cookie recipe. It is seeing a cookie recipe and wondering if I could do that. Often I can but sometimes I recognize that I have limits on my time. Especially in the early days when I was driving to Charlotte or Winston-Salem for meetings.

Thank goodness for Skype and Zoom. The learning curve was steep in the early days, though.

Today’s secret of CTIAT is that I often lean into the experimentation phase but I have to be mindful of people’s favorites. I try to institute a favorites month into the year’s calendar. This cuts down on surgeons asking when I am going to make the jalapeno chocolate chip again.

I don’t want people to be so complacent that they are gonna get cookies but also not bore them. I wouldn’t want to be bored.

The Twix Cookie takes a fair amount of time. There is the baking of the base cookie, waiting for it to cool, melting and adding the caramel and waiting for it to cool, and melting and adding the chocolate layer. All those steps take time.

What else takes time is realizing that you are out of caramel. To the store in the middle of baking! Maybe all the pauses make sense.

I also utilized the Midwest Refrigerator and cooled the cookies outside on the front porch. This definitely sped up the cookies.

Cookie Thursday 1/9/25- enduring happy accidents

This is the second week of the Cookie Thursday is a Thing 10th-anniversary baking frenzy. Not really, it is just a highlight reel of the department favorite cookies from the past 10 years. It is a good thing that this month has 5 Thursdays.

The cookie that I made today was a perennial favorite and is always at the top of the cookie wishlists.

I, of course, am making the jalapeño chocolate chip cookies.

As always, I am shocked and tickled pink by the enduring love for this cookie from my department. Many people put it at the top of their list. Of course, there are always the naysayers who say vegetables don’t belong in cookies.

Nay, I say. Cookies are only bound by your imagination.

The jalapeño chocolate chip cookies were begun after my dad planted my garden for me. And included three jalapeño plants.

No one in the house would eat them and I needed to dispose of them somehow.

Looking at the pile of peppers on my countertop and the supplies of Cookie Thursday is a Thing started me wondering what if.

What if I put the jalapeños in the cookies?

This started the experimental phase of CTIAT. A phase I am proud to continue as I am always down to experiment on willing participants.

Since it is January and peppers are getting weaker and weaker I use dried jalapeños. I reconstitute them in water for several hours and use the entire ramekin of peppers and water in the batch. I do increase the amount of flour to compensate for the increased fluid.

So really the jalapeño chocolate chip cookies were an accident. A happy accident but an accident nonetheless.

Post-it Sunday 1/5/24- You get more flies with honey than vinegar

The post-it reads “Killing the coworkers with carbs/kindness.”

This made me laugh when I re-read it.

This is another Cookie Thursday is a Thing story.

I did not start the behemoth that is Cookie Thursday is a Thing to kill my coworkers. We started it because a coworker had told us in the lounge that they’d never had a homemade cookie. Many pearls were clutched as we all inhaled in indignation.

However, not everyone is privileged enough to have someone who can bake or money to buy ingredients. This is a fact that was not lost on us. However, righting this wrong absolutely could happen. And did, every week for 10 years.

I had this brand new pretty kitchen that I was itching to use. Why not make homemade cookies, weekly for 10 years.

The new kitchen was put in during the entire year of 2014 and the countertops, which were back ordered for a month were installed in November. But that is a story all on its own.

I am not sure that my coworkers know the hows of CTIAT, yes that is the acronym I use. It has to fit in with all the other acronyms in the OR and there are many.

The entire thing is done on my and my husband’s dime. We earn the money to buy the ingredients that I use. We earn the money to buy the utilities that I use. That’s it.

Well, that isn’t entirely accurate. I have had a couple of pinch hitters when I was away or sick. I also have received $55 and a bag of flour over the course of those 10 years.

My sister would ask why I don’t charge a fee. She made me charge a drive-the-detachment fee for gas when I was in university and the only person in the detachment with access to a big enough car. We had to go between 2 universities for Air Force training. Funnily enough, they stopped asking me for rides when she did that. And the relationships cooled mightily.

I don’t want to charge a fee for people to eat the CTIAT cookies. It is not in the spirit of the thing. I have seen surgeons ask for repeats of certain cookies. I have also had people ask for specific cookies for their birthdays or last days. I happily made them all.

Kindness begets kindness, no matter how or why or who.

Being self-funded makes me feel better about experimenting on my coworkers with new cookies. I have had some real success. And a couple of duds. If I asked for money, I fear that I would lose some of the control. I set the schedule and decide on the monthly themes.

Imagine what it would be like if that had to happen by committee?

Cookie Thursday 1/2/25- CTIAT Turns TEN!

When Cookie Thursday is a Thing began in our operating room in 2015, I was not the only baker. There were a group of us, committed to making and bringing in cookies on Thursdays.

One by one the others dropped out.

Along the way there were a lot of discussions on what to name the cookie day.

A couple of people wanted simplicity and said Cookie Thursday.

This didn’t feel complete enough to me. Thursdays happen every week.

In those days Thursdays were the heaviest day of the week. Both case wise and difficult case wise. There was a lot of heavy ortho on Thursdays. By that I mean total joint replacements galore. And the hospital had just gotten its first robot with its steep learning curve.

No, the name had to be distinct and special.

The evening tech and I were discussing in the hallway, just outside of the lounge. They were one of the ones that wanted Cookie Thursday. I interrupted them and said emphatically, “No, because cookie Thursdays are a thing.”

And the name was created.

The word thing is deliberate.

A thing can be many, well, things.

It can be making coworkers feel special by having specific treats in the afternoons when it is so often day shift that is celebrated.

It can be making coworkers feel seen by making what they suggest. This was in the early days, when the themed days hadn’t been settled on.

It can be sharing the load. Yeah, this one didn’t last.

For me, it can be a way of marking the days.

It can be an acknowledgement that yeah, Thursdays are bad but at least there are cookies.

In fact, that was also almost the name- It’s Thursday but at least there are cookies.

I think that one is too long. It can be shortened to At Least There are Cookies but that didn’t acknowledge that Thursdays were the bear of the week and we just had to get through Thursdays to get to Friday.

The cookies were meant to be special because it was Thursday and special for the evening shift because the hospital did not go out of its way to make evening shift feel special and special for the morale boost that having home made cookies can give a department.

This 10th anniversary month I will be making favorites. I asked a bunch of people to choose their least favorite out of a list of 6. There are 5 Thursdays in January 2025.

Stay tuned to find out the top five cookies.

I am starting with an easy one because yesterday was hard. Out of the 12 hours I was on call yesterday (0700-1900) we worked 12.

We did 2 lap choles, 2 hip fractures, an open belly, and a D&C. I kind of felt like I was in my 12 Days of the OR Christmas song.

The cookie of the week is the crust cookie.

Cookie Thursday 12/12/24-rosemary thumbprint cookies with white chocolate ganache

In Hamlet Ophelia gave Laertes Rosemary, reminding him that it was for remembrance.

I think that is a striking part of the play when she moves around the stage giving flowers to people. Rosemary for remembrance, pansies for thoughts, and fennel, and columbines, and rue. She ends with the daisies and violets that withered when her father died.

Today rosemary is for remembrance. And because the bush is loosely associated with the holidays as it is evergreen, even in the depths of winter.

I saw this recipe and immediately knew that I wanted to make it. I informed the recipe’s creator that I was going to make it for Cookie Thursday is a Thing and she encouraged me and told me to report back.

A dispatch I can do.

Reading the recipe I was concerned that there were not enough wet stuff for all the dry stuff. The recipe only calls for 14 tablespoons of butter (about 1 and 3/4 sticks) and 2 3/4 cups of dry stuff. The dry ingredients are cornstarch, flour, and sugar. This ratio seemed way off. The other recipes that I use for shortbread have a bit more wet stuff. The recipe also calls for 5 tablespoons of rosemary, chopped fine.

This is a very dry dough, crumbly even. The recipe says to use your fingers to mold it into a cohesive dough. And then rest it for 20 minutes.

I used smaller dough balls than called for. My dough balls were about 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick. I formed the thumbprints prior to baking. I did use a spoon to re-thumbprint them after baking.

I did not use white chocolate and heavy cream to make the ganache. I used straight up candiquik. Not sorry. These baked up easily and cooled quickly, which is good because I was on deadline for cookie delivery and I worked last night.

The delicateness of the rosemary shortbread with just a touch of white chocolate to smooth the taste out is divine.

I will 100% make these again. Perhaps, next time, with a savory thumbprint. I am wondering what goes well with rosemary. .

I wonder what else is in my spice cabinet that can be made using this recipe as a base.

Cookie Thursday 11/21/24- sweet potato cookies

Yeah, this is the same recipe that I used two weeks ago for the pumpkin cookies.

Cookie Thursday is a Thing is nothing but exploratory. That means I experiment on my coworkers. They get cookies, I get to experiment in the kitchen. It’s all good fun.

I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin, I like the milder sweet potato.

The pumpkin cookies that I made two weeks ago were very popular. And since this month’s theme is Fall (so original, I know) I wanted to make two of the popular Fall “vegetables” into cookies.

The pumpkin ones went great, although the recipe was a snickerdoodle in disguise.

I just used the same technique on sweet potato, without the fiddly sugar dip in cinnamon sugar step. I was going to use ginger and sugar but I had a meeting that was starting in 15 minutes and the sugar dipping took so long and was so messy last time I just skipped that step. I think ginger sugar dipping would be delightful and I will stow that idea away for use in an upcoming Cookie Thursday is a Thing.

Without the sugar dip these cookies still turned out. They were soft and cakey (in a good way) and delicious.

This is one experiment that I wil have no problem replicating. Unless I change another variable.

Experiments for life.

Edit to add that I added the chocolate chips that I felt were lacking in the pumpkin cookies to half of the batch. Yep, the pumpkin cookies definitely needed chocolate chips.

Cookie Thursday 11/7/24-soft pumpkin cookies

The Cookie Thursday is a Thing theme for November 2025 is Fall.

I asked my boss and someone else who happened to be in their office which cookie screams fall to them. They looked at each other and answered, “Pumpkin.”

I opened my Fall page on my Pinterest Cookie Thursday is a Thing board and looked up pumpkin cookies. One recipe caught my eye and it was for a soft pumpkin cookie, with no frosting.

Sold, I thought.

Until was making it and realized that it was a pumpkin Snickerdoodle recipe. Ugh. I hate making Snickerdoodles and this is probably the second time in CTIAT’s 9 years and 11 months that I made one.

I will recognize that the cookies are soft.

Apparently, this is because I decreased the canned pumpkin’s water content. I thought that would make the cookies drier. Not so. I put the canned pumpkin on paper towels and let the moisture seep out. This completely changed the consistency of the canned pumpkin.

Color me surprised and impressed.

The cookies did bake up super soft and it intensified the pumpkin flavor. Who knew?

I still hated dredging each dough ball in cinnamon sugar before baking. I will try that trick when I am making sweet potato cookies.