Death By Flour (And Chocolatey Nutella)
My mother nearly killed me a few weeks ago. She drove up to visit, and as I munched on my afternoon snack, she dropped this on me: “I’m giving up flour!”
Choking on my carrot, I barely spluttered out, “W-w-what?” as I reached for my water glass.
“I’m giving up flour,” she repeated.
“Forever?” My mind was racing… How could my mother, my one and only mother, omit flour from her diet when her daughter dreams of becoming a baker??
She reassured me that no, this was a temporary diet-change-for-weight-loss thing, and she still enjoyed the occasional English muffin or fudgy brownie… In moderation. Limited moderation.
(You can call the ambulance driver back; I’m not going to die from a heart attack after all.) Continue reading for recipe.
Christmas Cookies for Santa: The Final Cookie
After reviewing the 12 different desserts I prepared to find Santa’s favorite, I realized how much doubting and overthinking influenced my decisions. Worried about texture, fillings, chocolate, and sugar, I jumped from cookie to cookie until I wasn’t even baking cookies anymore!
Does that happen to you too? During the holidays, do you run around trying to buy the perfect gift for every grandparent, sibling, niece, nephew, and dog? Do you re-hang the ornaments until each one reflects the sparkling lights? Do you plan a five-course Christmas dinner to meet everyone’s low-fat, low-carb, and allergy needs? Do you spend so much time behind the camera recording every excited child’s face that you forget to smile yourself? Continue reading for recipe.
Christmas Cookies for Santa: A White Christmas
Staring at the white coconut flakes and chocolate fudge, another thought popped into my head. What if Santa loved white chocolate, but I kept baking with milk, semisweet, or dark? Not willing to take that risk, I bought a bag of white chocolate chips to play with. Continue reading for recipe.
Christmas Cookies for Santa: Back to Chocolate
Even though I gave in and ate five of the thumbprint cookies, maybe Santa disliked the stick, sugary jam. Maybe he preferred a thicker filling, one that didn’t shake like his belly when he laughed. Maybe he wanted a decadent dessert after all. Continue reading for recipe.
Christmas Cookies for Santa: Avoiding Sticky Situations
My fruity moment of brilliance really shone in the striped bars, but with the jam exposed on the sides of the cookies, Santa might stain his clean white gloves a deep raspberry red. Since Mrs. Claus already washes chimney soot out of his suit every Christmas, I thought she’d thank me if I tried to minimize the amount of stain stick and detergent she used. Which mean another “round” of cookies… Continue reading for recipe.
Christmas Cookies for Santa: Changing the Crunch
An explosion of almond extract hit my taste buds as I munched away on one (okay, three) of my biscotti. But as the crumbs collected on my shirt, another doubt crossed my mind. What if Santa forgot to dunk the crunchy cookies in milk? At his age, his teeth probably chip quite easily, and I didn’t want to be charged with Santa’s new denture bill. So I pulled the almond extract back off of the shelf to mix up a batch of chewier bar cookies. Continue reading for recipe.
Christmas Cookies for Santa: More Modifications
While the rice krispie bars looked cute and festive, what if Santa developed diabetes from all of the marshmallows, powdered sugar, and sugar sprinkles I added to the treats? Before anyone accused and found me guilty of sending Santa to the Emergency Room for a sugar overload, I mixed up a batch of healthier bar cookies. Continue reading for recipe.
Christmas Cookies for Santa: Adjusting Again
I stood in the kitchen this morning still feeling like I missed the mark with my previous attempts for Santa’s favorite Christmas cookie. Maybe he wanted a lighter, crunchier treat, whereas I only offered moist, rich desserts. As I ate my breakfast cereal, puzzling over what to make, the snap-crackle-pop jolted me awake. Rice krispie treats! Continue reading for recipe.
Christmas Cookies for Santa: Another Try
If Mrs. Claus helped load the sleigh, perhaps her peppermint perfume permeated into the sack of toys, already filling Santa’s nose with her sweet scent. So maybe he didn’t need my peppermint reminder to think of his wife on his trip. Despite this insight, I thought Santa still wanted a moist brownie with his glass of milk. Continue reading for recipe.
Christmas Cookies for Santa: Still Guessing
As I bit into the chocolate peppermint cookie, I realized the ginormous problem with my approach to Santa’s treats. Almost every other family leaves him cookies, so baking a different type of dessert would bring him more joy and break up the cookie monotony. Continue reading for recipe.
Foods for the Soul 