Olivia shook her head, leveling off a cup of sifted flour with the back of a butter knife. “They’re my go-to cookie. I could probably make them in my sleep.”
“Brad’s an idiot,” Margot grumbled, frowning at the KitchenAid in concentration, studying the buttons. As soon as she flipped the on switch, butter spewed at high speed, splattering the kitchen backsplash. She shut it off and frowned. “Huh.”
Olivia laughed. “Speed switch?”
Margot turned bright red.
This time, the mixer was much smoother, whipping the softened butter instead of obliterating it.
“You were saying.” Olivia dumped the cup of flour into the bowl and grabbed the baking soda. “Something about Brad being an idiot?”
Margot’s eyes flittered to Olivia’s and back to the bowl where the KitchenAid was turning the butter and sugar into one homogeneous mixture. “What? Does the statement Brad’s an idiot really require further explanation?”
Olivia pressed her lips together, trying in vain not to laugh. “Add this.”
She nudged the bowl of dry ingredients toward Margot.
Margot reached for the bowl and tilted it, too much, too fast. A cloud of cocoa powder poofed in the air, making her cough.
“Margot.”
“Sorry!” She reached for the speed switch and flicked it the wrong direction because the mixer made a loud whirring noise, whipping a violent splatter of chocolate dough around the room. A thick glob of it landed against Olivia’s cheek and she shrieked, ducking for cover.
Margot swore loudly and powered the mixer off altogether.
Laughter bubbled up behind the tight press of Olivia’s lips, bursting out in a sharp snicker.
Margot’s face was dusted in a fine layer of pale brown powder, and there was a streak of gooey dough along her jawline. She stood, frozen, staring at the KitchenAid as if it had gone rogue and personally wronged her. “What the . . .”
Olivia’s stomach ached, her knees wobbling, finally folding under her as she slid down to the floor. The tile was cool under her thighs as she lied back, laughing up at the ceiling. The ceiling. Her eyes watered. There was batter on the ceiling, a starburst splatter of brown and yellow, the butter not quite mixed with the cocoa powder. An ominous stalactite of dough oozed down, not yet dripping.
Her head thunked back against the tile, her chest burning and her eyes streaming as she chortled.
She could barely make out the sound of Margot’s approaching footsteps over her laughter.
“Rude.”
Olivia cracked open an eye, laughing harder at the batter that dripped down Margot’s forehead.
Margot crossed her arms. “You’re just going to lie there and laugh?”
Olivia covered her face and nodded, struggling to breathe.
The batter fell from the ceiling, splattering wetly against the floor, startling Cat, whose fur fluffed up, standing on end. She darted out of the kitchen, abandoning what little remained of the food on her plate, and took cover under the living room coffee table. Probably not a bad idea to steer clear of the kitchen for the foreseeable future.
Margot surveyed what was left in the bowl with a frown. “Break-and-bakes?”
Olivia pressed her palms against the floor, heaving herself up onto her knees before using the counter for leverage. “We’ll just start over.”
“Start over? Do you really think that’s a—” A blob of batter splattered against the top of Margot’s head, dripping down from that oozing stalactite as she reached for a rag. It ran down the center of her forehead, between her eyes, sliding down her nose. Her tongue darted out, swiping batter off her upper lip. “Sure. We’ll start over. What’s the worst that could happen?”
Olivia pressed her fingers to her mouth, stifling a laugh. “Second time’s the charm?”
By the time Margot had scrubbed the ceiling and scraped what was left of the dough into a separate bowl and Olivia had finished wiping down the counters and floor, the new sticks of butter had reached room temp and were ready for creaming.
Olivia gestured to the KitchenAid. “Do you want me to—”
“No, no.” Margot waved her off, glaring at the mixer through narrowed eyes. “I started this. I’m going to finish it.”
This time, Margot managed to start the KitchenAid on a much more sedate speed setting, slowly creaming the butter and sugar together before adding in the eggs and vanilla. When it was time to add in the dry ingredients, Margot lowered the speed further, stirring everything together slowly and without splatter.