Doc’s Oldkinda CookiesTM

It wasn’t enough that Doc Browning held the 1989 Guinness World Record for basketball free-throws in a 24-hour period. He had his sights set on a higher goal. Doc was determined to make the finest ginger cookies in the history of the world. Why?… Who knows?

Doc made his first batch from an Adirondack friend’s recipe. Pretty good, but not even close to a world record. He persevered. By 1993, he had the reputation as baker of the finest ginger cookies at St. Mark’s School of Texas, but for the athletic trainer and physical education teacher, it wasn’t enough. Every day he challenged his students to do their best - - to beat their last P.R. (that’s personal record). Every day, Doc practiced what he preached, and in 1994 he earned the Excellence in Teaching Award at St. Mark’s .

Still, it wasn’t enough.

Every year at Christmastime, Doc baked thousands of cookies to give to the boys at his beloved school. He wore a Santa hat and handed out his special Christmas cards - - actually just business cards with a Christmas greeting. A boy could keep the card and redeem it every following Christmas for one of Doc’s cookies. Cookies could also be earned by wearing a Santa hat to school. Despite the strict uniform code, the Santa hats never drew a reprimand at the prestigious boys’prep school - - perhaps because Doc handed out plenty of cookies to the faculty as well.

A few weeks before Christmas in 1996, Doc stumbled upon an amazing ingredient that made a world of difference in his ginger cookies. The boys and their parents were delighted! They begged him to continue baking after the Christmas season. They offered to buy his cookies! His lovely wife thought that was a grand idea. Without advertising, Doc simply began to sell his cookies - - a tin at a time. In two weeks, he was swamped with orders.

On St. Valentine’s Day, 1997, Doc added the final touch to his years of research, and declared that, at last, he had made the finest ginger cookies in the history of the world. Predictably, that wasn’t enough.