A stressful day filled with bad news about sick family members and friends has led me into the kitchen for some therapy. I don't mean eating...I mean baking.
For me, being in the kitchen is like meditation or yoga, even with The Munchkin following me around in her walker and running into the back of my heels! There is something so soothing about the whir of a Kitchenaid stand mixer combining raw ingredients into wonderful treats that will bring smiles to the faces of others...and myself.
And today, I've given the mixer and my oven quite a workout. It all started with a loaf of bread and my mom's Upside-Down German Chocolate Cake to complete an early Christmas dinner for some friends of the family. Once those were done and ready to be delivered, I turned to cookies to share with our coworkers and families.
One of The Man's favorite cookies is Paula Deen's Monster Cookies. I make them with chocolate chunks, M&Ms, and raisins. Sometimes I'll add white chocolate chips as well, but The Man prefers them without, so today I obliged. You can add to the base cookie whatever you and your family like. After all, it's your cookie!
The second cookie is one I found on Pinterest. The Lemon Burst Cookie could actually be done with any flavor cake mix. I just happened to have a lemon cake mix laying around, but I think chocolate would be wonderful (of course!) or even a french vanilla cake mix rolled in powdered sugar and cocoa. The possibilities are endless! Let your imagine run wild with this one.
In the end, the cookies turned out wonderfully, and the kitchen therapy really did help. The cookies are so wonderful, we are having a hard time staying out of them! I do hope to package some up for each of us to take to work to share with our coworkers, but I'll have to make sure we have some left! :) And, I found myself focusing on the food and enjoying the process instead of dwelling on the bad news of the day.
I had hoped to make more Cranberry Walnut Bagels, some Zucchini Muffins and Hot Cocoa Cookies, but The Munchkin wasn't going to allow that...so, maybe tomorrow after her 9 month checkup.
Stay tuned for more goodies!
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