She knew she had failed again when the smell of burnt cookies oozed out from the kitchen a few minutes after she had gone to get something from the living room.
"Not again" she lowered her eyebrow and tightened her lips as she walked toward the kitchen in a haste.
The day had just begun and she had desperately craved for cookies, the grandma's kind of cookies she had eaten in the village. She hated the fact that she kept burning her cookies and that did not give her the kind of taste she wanted, "What's Grandma's secret to delicious cookies?" She asked herself as she tried to picture what she had seen grandma doing the very night she stayed with her in the kitchen.
"Debby! Debby!" Her mom called. Debby stayed quiet, she knew what her mom was going to ask, a question to which she knew the answer already.
"What's that smell coming from the kitchen? I hope you've not burnt the cookies again?"
"Mmm....It was..."
"A mistake You'll say" her mom cut her short before she could finish.
"I want to learn how to make cookies, I keep getting it wrongly," Debby said while squeezing the burnt cookie into a bin.
Her mom shrugged,"You should consider spending your next holiday in Grandma's place. You'll have more time to learn" she advised, then left Debby in the kitchen to clean up the place.
Debby grinned, immediately her face brightened up. She had always wanted to, now she couldn't wait for her next holiday.
Debby's Grandma was turning 65, she was still young and strong and never agreed at any point that she was old. She had learned a special way to make cookies from her mom who always included a few strawberries and mint and this made it taste different from the ones Debby eats.
"One little mistake in the mixture and you'll get a wrong taste. Either too sweet or sour. You'll just need to know what quantity of them to mix and at what time" her grandma had told her, but she seemed to always get it wrong.
A few days before Debby's holiday, her mom became curious why Debby was so desperate about learning the kind of cookies grandma makes. It tasted differently and sweet, but she knew Debby wouldn't just want to learn for the sake of her consumption. So she called debby ad asked;
'I have always wanted to make a cookie eatery. Knowing Grandma had a different recipes, I know I'll sell better when people tasted something different, beside it wouldn't be an easy-to-copy recipes"
Her mom nodded with a raised eyebrow. Debby allowed her chin to spread and pat her lips into a lovely smile.
"Okay, Make sure you learn this time when you travel to stay with grandma" her mum encouraged, "You'll need a pen and notepad to record everything you learn. I'll love to learn how to make Grandma's cookies too, I've always craved more since the first time I tasted it" mom said as they both laughed. Debby was surprised that mom also had interest in the cookies.
During the holiday, Debby traveled to grandma's house. Grandma was happy to receive Debby, she loved her granddaughter and couldn't wait to pass on the lesson she learned from her mother to her.
"Mix this, mix that" Grandma kept instructing her on what to do. She told her the flavors that best fits each chocolate and the right amount to add.
"You're learning fast, I like the fact that you no longer burn cookies and this is an improvement " Grandma told Debby. She grinned, happy that she had discovered why her cookies kept burning. Two more weeks in Grandma's house, Debby started to make cookies that tasted just like that of Grandma. She flaunted her teeth open the entire day, happy that she had learned how to make cookies just like Grandma.
"Let me tell you one more secret," grandma started, "my mother taught me the secret of these cookies , but i didn't stop there. Adding mint was my own idea because I wanted to remain different and special" she paused and observed Debby for a while then sighed. "I'll want you to keep improving on these recipes, " she added.
Debby traveled back home after the holidays, glad that she had learned how to make the cookies. She cooked it on different occasions to her mom's delight.
"You've wanted to start an eatery, here is $1500. I hope it'll help you start this eatery" her mom said, handing over to Money to Debby. She hugged her mum and thanked her, hoping to set up the place the following week.
