Fun with Cookies (and Camera!)

What IS it about making cookies? I remember as a kid stalking the mixer waiting to see how much dough my Mom would leave on the beaters. Much to my dismay, she could whip a spatula in and around those beaters so well it seemed they had never danced in the bowl with the butter and sugar. However, there was always that one spot at the bottom inside of the beater that she couldn't -or didn't- work her magic spatula. You can trust me when I say, the beaters looked cleaner than ever when I got finished with them. Think "gleeming".
Years later, Brighton's realization of what is going on when I get out the hand mixer and what the beaters taste like after resurfacing has created a need for THREE beaters. My second child is forcing me to break my not so flattering habit of licking the beaters until they sparkle. Unfortunately, there is no substitute. Nor is there for this......................