A/N Thanks to all of you who read and reviewed the last chapter, who favorited and followed this story, and who liked and reblogged my post on tumblr. I'm always grateful for your support. Here's the next chapter – a little Christmas baking. Very minor S5 spoiler.
B – Baking
December, 1931
"Do you think that's enough chocolate?" asked Elsie after Beryl had dumped the broken pieces into the batter.
"Heavens, yes!" Beryl answered. "The chocolate is meant to be an enhancement, not the main ingredient. We want them to be sweet – but not nauseating!"
"As you say, Beryl," replied Elsie, duly chastised. "You know best, of course."
"And you'd do well to remember that!" Beryl shot back cheekily but with no ill intent.
The two were doing some Christmas baking in the large, well-equipped kitchen at the Mason farm. It had been their tradition for several years – now that they were two, happily married, contentedly retired, independent ladies – to do their Christmas baking together.
The first year, Beryl had not yet married William Mason, Senior, and the two friends had done their baking at the Carsons' cottage; but it had been too much for Charles to endure. The poor man had hovered all day, watching from the parlor while pretending to read his newspaper and listen to the wireless. He'd conceived every possible excuse to go into or through the small kitchen, asking unwelcome questions, giving unsolicited advice, and generally causing unnecessary interference, until finally they'd sent him on a contrived errand into the village. The women, in fact, had had plenty of sugar and flour, but Charles had not needed to know that. He'd dutifully bundled himself up and trudged into the village to acquire their supplies, fearing that if he didn't, he would have fewer sweets to enjoy.
The next year, after Beryl had married Bill Mason and moved to his farm, it had been decided that the Mason kitchen was a far better location for their annual endeavor. Not only was the space better apportioned, better stocked, and better equipped, but also, Bill, having been married before, was prudent enough to know that it was in his best interest to give the two bakers a wide berth. And every year since then, the week before Christmas, the friends had done their baking together in Beryl's kitchen.
This year, the women were trying a special recipe. The Carsons were expecting a visit the next day from Lady Mary and Master George. Beryl had learned from Daisy (who was now addressed as Mrs. Mason, in keeping with the dignity of her position as cook at the Abbey), that these new "Toll House Cookies*" were Master George's favorite. He'd acquired a taste for them while visiting Miss Sybbie and Mr. Branson in Boston and had begged Daisy to obtain the recipe and bake some for him. At ten years old, Master George was sweet and sincere, but he also was well aware of his charm. He knew that if he put forth any reasonable request with a modicum of earnestness, no one would refuse him anything. And so Daisy had written to Ivy, who had then sent her a newspaper clipping with the popular recipe. Daisy had made the cookies for Master George, and he'd declared them "delicious."
Now, Beryl and Elsie were baking a batch so that Elsie could have the lad's favorites on hand when he came to visit the Carsons with his mother. Elsie had become rather partial to the boy; he was growing into a fine young man who reminded everyone of his late father.
"There! That should do it," pronounced Beryl as they mixed in the list bits of chocolate. "Now we'll need to drop little clumps of batter onto the baking tin."
The friends worked together, shaping the rounded little mounds of dough with spoons and their fingers.
"What have you got Charles for Christmas this year?" asked Beryl.
"A new cricket bat," Elsie told her. "He and His Lordship are teaching Master George to play. The lad's a natural, he says. And what have you got for Bill?"
"I've ordered him a new suit from the tailor. He likes to look smart when we visit Daisy at the house."
"That's very thoughtful. I'm sure he'll love it."
Elsie and Beryl continued to chat lightheartedly about this and that while they finished arranging the dough and then while the cookies baked. When the cookies were done and cooled, they each tasted one.
"Hmmm … What do you think, Beryl?" Elsie wanted to know.
"Not bad, for something from America. I can see why the lad likes them. What do you say, Elsie?"
"Well, I'm still partial to shortbread, but these are quite tasty, I must say."
A little while later, Elsie packed up a tin with cookies to take home with her, leaving some for Beryl and Bill. Elsie thanked Beryl and went on her way.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
The next afternoon, Lady Mary and Master George sat at the kitchen table in the Carsons' cottage, visiting with their favorite retired couple. Master George had been given a tall glass of milk and a large helping of his favorite cookies. His mother admonished him to slow down and not to try to speak with his mouth full, but Elsie was secretly thrilled to see the boy devour the treats so eagerly. When he'd finished all the cookies that were on his plate, Elsie offered him more, pending Lady Mary's approval. He gave his mother a pleading look, but to no avail.
"No, thank you, Mrs. Carson," said Lady Mary. "He's had quite enough. They're scrumptious, but he'll spoil his dinner. And Mrs. Mason is making his favorite clam chowder tonight." She looked pointedly at her son.
To the young man's credit, though he was obviously disappointed, he answered simply, "Yes, Mama."
"Very well, My Lady," Elsie said politely to the younger woman. Then she turned to Charles and suggested, "Dear, why don't you take Lady Mary in the parlor and show her your new book about Buckingham Palace? Master George and I will be along in a moment. I'd like to ask him all about Miss Sybbie and about what he saw and did in America."
Charles eyed Elsie suspiciously for just an instant before suggesting to his guest, "My Lady, I've a new book about the royal palace. I wonder if you might take a look and tell me if the photographs do it justice. I've seen it from the outside, of course, from a distance, but I'm sure you could tell me a great deal more about the pictures of the rooms inside. Would you be so kind?"
"Certainly," replied Lady Mary. And with that, she and Charles retired to the parlor, leaving Elsie and Master George in the kitchen with the tin of cookies.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Later, after Lady Mary and Master George had taken their leave, Elsie and Charles went back to the kitchen to finish the clearing and washing up. Charles spotted the open cookie tin on the table.
"Elsie," he began, "I'm quite sure that there were precisely eighteen biscuits in that tin when I left this room with Lady Mary. I see only fourteen now."
"They're cookies, Charles, and do you mean to tell me that you counted them?"
"Of course I did! And do you mean to tell me that you didn't? How many years did we spend keeping careful inventories of everything at the house? I know when something disappears. You gave the lad more ... cookies ... after his mother expressly forbade it!" he accused.
"Perhaps I ate them," she rejoined.
Charles took hold of his wife, pulled her to him, and kissed her thoroughly. "You don't taste like chocolate," he observed, still holding her close.
"All right, you win," she conceded. "I let him eat two more."
"Just two? Last I checked, fourteen from eighteen leaves four, my dear."
"Yes, well, the other two are wrapped up in his pocket for after dinner."
"Elsie Carson, the next time you presume to scold me for favoring an 'uppity minx,' I shall remind you how you've spoilt her son!"
Elsie didn't appreciate being teased about her fondness for the boy and sought to silence her husband immediately. She reached behind her, plucked a cookie from the tin, playfully stuffed it into his mouth, and promptly kissed him. With his mouth full of delectable cookie and his arms full of amorous Elsie, Charles was rendered mute: mute … but very, very content.
A/N Historical/culinary note: "Toll House® Crunch Cookies" were created by Ruth Wakefield at her Toll House Inn in Massachusetts in 1930 when she added broken bits of chocolate to her cookie dough. The recipe became very popular locally and was soon printed in a Boston newspaper. The cookies' fame spread, and she later struck a deal with the Nestlé® company, which began selling pre-chopped bits of chocolate in convenient packages; the company provided her with a lifetime's supply of chocolate, and her recipe was printed on every package of chocolate chips sold.
Personal note: chocolate chip cookies are my absolute FAVORITE, and I have the world's best recipe. It's similar to the original Toll House® recipe, with a few significant differences. Send me a message if you want the recipe, and I'll fix you up with it!
Also, please leave a review if you can spare a moment. Thanks!
