Cookie dough sampling, Vegetable “shortener”

Last week Mama had several kids over to make cookies. I say several, it was only three girls and two boys each making a particular type of cookie which, thankfully, they took home as part of the reward for the work involved. Everything turned out very well and all participants were pleased with the cookies and the fun – especially Mama Kim.
The boys were more interested in tasting the batter than in actually baking the cookies. I guess they come by it naturally since that is my favorite part also. I always get in trouble for taking more than what Mama thinks is my fair share of the dough, probably because I eat more than my fair share of the final product also. I have never understood why the dough tastes so good to me. I have never liked bread dough, or brownie dough, or cupcake batter. (One of the great mysteries of life.)
Mama and the girls all liked the cookies fresh out of the oven – never much to my liking. I like my cookies cooled and ready to eat in multiples of three or greater. It seems that the boys were solidly in my court on that one also. Since I was getting up later in the morning after working all night I got off to a slow start but was able to make up ground quickly.
Jake got interested when the snicker doodle cookies were next on the list and he and one of the younger girls shared in mixing the initial ingredients. Jake took as much of the initial mixture as his finger could scoop up and ate it as his mixing partner screamed, “That’s gross Jake!” “Why, I think it tastes great. What’s so gross?” “It’s just butter and sugar. That’s what!” “No wonder it tastes so good!” He went back for more not necessarily out of the fun he was having eating it but rather for the fun he was having grossing out a girl with it.
It only took a moment for the other girls to join in the chorus of pretended offence. “That’s gross. Mama Kim!!” Jake’s face was about to break with the smile it was trying to contain. I suppose that’s the fun in having activities where girls and boys participate together – especially young ones. The girls pretend to be grossed our by the boys and the boys get so carried away in the fun that we adults eventually have to intervene before things gets too out of hand, all the while Mama and I are trying hard to dismiss (at least to the boys and girls present) how hilarious the moment really is. We try not to encourage such behavior! (NOT!)
After it was all done there were three or four kinds of cookies made, separated and bagged for the differing trips home. One batch was made with spelt flour for one of the older girls visiting who is on a gluten-free diet. They were an oatmeal-raisin recipe and they came out pretty well. I only got one so my taste test was inconclusive.
As we were winding down, Jake started reading the recipes - ingredient by ingredient. Most were relatively familiar, but he stumbled over what he read as “vegetable shortener”. So naturally, he asked, “Mama Kim, what vegetables did we use in the cookies?”