oatmeal cookies and justice for all

I made the cookie recipe stamped on the round box of oatmeal. For an oatmeal box recipe, I would have expected the measurement of the main ingredient to have been more than the paltry third-cup required. Why would an oatmeal cookie require less oatmeal than flour? The recipe employed flax meal soaked in water and proved less effective than an egg would have been. The cookies crumbled, their flavors falling onto the floor and the counter top or into the catcher’s mitts of our palms for a fast pitch into our mouths. For our nightly sweet-tooth treat, I succumbed to ramekins and spoons. A tad of dairy-free vanilla ice cream elevated the effect and soothed my ego somewhat, crumbled cookies and ice cream reminding me of sugary Dairy Queen blizzards and the Blue Bell Cookies and Cream I used to buy on sale as a special treat when the kids were, well, kids.

What does this have to do with anything that matters? I’ll stretch for a segue.

In a world where promises for Greater and Better are being offered up like desserts, one has to wonder why the resistance to change has lagged in the halls of power for so long. More flour than oatmeal? As each branch of government offers recipes to make the world more just, equity can’t be supplied in mere dashes or sprinkles.

What is it we’re going for? Oatmeal cookies or something else? Agreement is a start. As far as binding agents go, if an egg leads to a more solid cookie, seek compromise. Use egg! The bakers of cookies need to recognize nutritional value, quality control, and taste. What people expect from an oatmeal cookie, they deserve to get. Trust is the key. When we can all agree on that, we can meet in the kitchen and mix up some cookies that don’t crumble.