I can't get enough of The Great British Baking Show. Have you watched it?
I love how kind they are to one another--comforting when a bake turns bad, helping to ensure the item is plated before the bell, cheering for successes or crying as a competitor-turned-friend is sent home.
I love it.
When I have a headache or feel overwhelmed, it's my go-to comfort show. (Like when we were both super sick last Thanksgiving.)
As it turns out, it's not just watching a handful of people baking delicious treats that brings comfort. Baking them in my own home is just as soothing. During the pandemic, I baked something new at least twice a week.
I couldn't place my finger on why I was too overwhelmed or foggy-brained to completely focus on things like writing blog posts or completing a large work-related task, but I could tune-out my husband's 100-person Zoom meeting (in which no one had figured out how to mute themselves) and make a new-to-me semi-complex recipe... with excitement!
All I knew is that it was helping. And, based on my Facebook feed, I wasn't the only one.
After a while, I stumbled upon this article from Delish on some of the psychology behind baking. It's pretty fascinating.
And so I baked.
I baked for us, I baked for friends, I baked for the staff at our church. When my dad came to visit, I sent him home with two bags of pastries.
This is no overstatement--our house smelled amazing.
I thought I'd share some of the more successful recipes. These are a handful of the baked goods we had on-hand through our shelter-in-place.
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First and foremost, these Brown Butter Bourbon Dark Chocolate Pretzel cookies (on repeat...) The dough freezes really well, so I will now make a full batch and bake two at a time for dessert.
I'm tempted to justify all of this sugar by telling you we had balanced meals in-between snacks... lots of fresh veggies and healthy fats.
The truth is, sometimes we did... and sometimes we didn't.
But we laughed a lot and snuggled a lot and played a lot of board games and watched a lot of movies. So I'm calling it a win.
How about you? Did you bake or cook anything out-of-the-norm during shelter-in-place? Any recipes you think we should try?
LOVE this!! With Dave's garden overflowing with zucchinis, I have found the MOST delicious Chocolate chip Zucchini bread recipe. Heavy on the chocolate (of course!), it has been our go-to for taking to work, to friends and to have for breakfast, lunch and dessert! You're an inspiration with the BREAD!! Wow!
ReplyDeleteFirst time caller, long time reader..jk. I just started both. I'm an old friend of Josh's and after a bit of creeping on his Facebook page I found you and this blog. It's lovely. It's entertaining, well written, and laid out superbly. You have a gift. And I appreciate you sharing it. As a youth pastor, it's also relevant to me. Be encouraged today, be encouraged tomorrow. Thank you for the positive content. Please, keep them coming. *smile
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