These cookies may look like delicious Chocolate Drop Quickies (official name), but they are affectionately known as "Dog Poop Cookies" in our household. Allow me to explain how this came to be.Back when I was in high school, I had a boyfriend. For the purposes of this story, we'll call him Ennis. Ennis and I were an on-again, off-again kind of thing, so I really can't remember at what point in our relationship this happened. I am going to guess it was the spring of my sophomore year, because I do remember he broke my heart into a million pieces the fall of my junior year. Who could forget a thing like that? In any case, I lived with my grandparents during the school week, and he lived in the dorm. My high school was the only public boarding school in the nation at this time, and most of the high school kids lived in the dorm. I was lucky that my grandparents lived in town and I didn't have to live in the dorm. Anyway, one day after school I decided I would make my boyfriend Ennis cookies.
I chose to make him cookies that look like the ones pictured above, Chocolate Drop Quickies, which are seriously delicious and yummy. They are simple, no bake cookies and have oatmeal, cocoa and sugar as the main ingredients. What's not to love about those ingredients?
So I made my beloved Ennis the delightful and very tasty aforementioned cookies, thinking he would love them and consequently, love me more. If you are thinking that is not what happened, then you are on the right track - stay with me.
Now Ennis had a friend, one of his best friends, named (for the sake of this story) Wonte. Wonte was a smart alek, and he never did care for me. To tell you the truth, I didn't like him, either. He and Ennis were a grade above me in school. I remember how proud I was that I had made Ennis these cookies, and I happily took them to him after dinner when visiting hours started at the dorm. I really don't know what Ennis thought about them, because Wonte ruined it all by saying very loudly and in front of many other kids, "What are those?! They look like dog poops!"
Being a typical teenage girl who worried about everything, this devastated me. I couldn't believe Wonte would say such a thing. And of course the fact that he said it in front of so many people made it a far worse experience. I don't recall anyone eating even one. Who would want to after an image of dog feces in their head? Long story short, I was humiliated and sad and crushed that Wonte ruined my wonderful surprise for Ennis. And I was also disappointed that Ennis didn't defend me. In fact, he didn't seem to appreciate them at all. It was an absolutely devastating situation, trust me.
Of course many years have passed since then. Many. But every time I make these particular cookies, I remember the mortification I felt back then. Sadly, Wonte died not long after graduation. He was always a troubled kid. And after Ennis broke my heart and ruined my life at the start of my junior year (or so I thought at the time, as teenagers with broken hearts do), he came back to me after the girl he dumped me for dumped him for someone else. He told me I was the right one for him all along. He stopped by my Grandma's house one day in the fall of my senior year after a high school football game and brought me his senior picture and told me he still loved me and that he shouldn't have broken up with me and he was sorry. It did make me feel better, but I was done. We were never meant to be, anyway. I mean, if he didn't like my cookies, then he certainly wouldn't like my cooking. Hahaha!
So one day, I shared the story with my kiddos, because even after all these years, the pain of that memory still kind of hurt. Embarrassing things like that just don't go away, do they? Magically, after sharing that tale with my kids, who thought it was quite hysterical, it changed the narrative from one of shame and sorrow to one of humor and a new way of thinking about these cookies. And that, my friends, is why we call these cookies, "Dog Poops." I will say, "Would you like a Dog Poop?" Or they will say, "Can I have a Dog Poop?" And we know exactly what we mean.
It is funny how things like that stick with you. Brailey and Britt both thought it was a funny story, sure. But it also bothered them, because they also thought it was mean. I didn't anticipate this, but I should have - they are sweet, thoughtful kids who have empathy and think of others. I told Britt to always remember this story and to "Never, ever make fun of a girl's cooking!" The good news is that while it devastated me at the time, I got the last laugh, and not only do my kids and I love Dog Poop Cookies, my mother-in-law does, as well. So these famous goodies have all kinds of fans to enjoy them. And that is the story of the Dog Poop Cookies. Let me know if you would like the recipe!
