Bake Sales

Standing in line at the Bake Sale last Friday evening, I was on the prowl for the perfect looking homemade chocolate chip cookie. Ziplock bags lined the tables - single serve baggies of cookies for $.50 each. Some had 2 cookies, others 3, but I quickly remembered "quality over quantity". Some were too toasty brown on the bottom, others had too few visible chocolate chips. The perfect cookies are totally symmetrical. They must have a 'homemade' look - a gentle lumpiness, a sloppy round shape. Hmmm...how long did I really stand there thinking about all of this? Minutes, literally. I finally settled on a bag. Retreated to a corner and broke off a piece of cookie. It was good! I chose well. Silly to think that I could have a little taste to check the quality but save the rest for later. I ate all three - before I even knew it. When it was time to go, I stopped again by the bake sale table. Same strategy. I chose a 2-cookie bag this time. Couldn't get the same ones as before because they were all gone. Broke off a little piece and 'thwuuu'....not good. Lack of sugar. Too dry.
Moral of the story - you can't judge a chocolate chip cookie by it's appearance.

You're buying on faith at a bake sale-with the sincere hope that you've picked out the best of the bunch. It would be lovely if the cashiers could give you a heads up on what's good the way a waitress might do in a restaurant. Another lovely option is to arrange the items by best taste or put up a little sign pointing out which items are the good ones. It's all just gamble, as it is.