MINDFUL BAKING: NO-FAIL PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
December 18, 2018
Pittsburgh Fitness Project
Christmas is truly upon us. Only a few days left to finalize holiday shopping, family gathering, and work event details. For most of us, it’s overwhelming and feels chaotic. And for some, this time of year can bring out our worst frustrations and lack of patience. Essentially everything we don’t want to be during the Christmas season. That’s why this week we want to try and knock out two birds with one mindfulness stone. If you’re involved with a cookie exchange, event, or just want to bake, this quick and easy recipe is a great holiday treat. And paired with mindfulness, can be a great way to de-stress this holiday. These cookies are great for all year long, but especially for the holidays since they can easily be doubled (or tripled!). They are no-fuss, use commonly found ingredients, and taste great!
MINDFUL BAKING
But before we even look at an ingredient list, I want you to think of the last time you were truly enjoying the moment. A time you weren’t preoccupied with the stress of work or worried about tomorrow. Take that vibrant energy, hold onto it for a moment. And let it go. As you take your next breath, restore your lungs with fresh air. Air untainted from stress and worry. And with that, let’s begin.
Baking is a great way to practice mindfulness. To bake successfully, we need to pay attention to our recipe. Baking is a science, and one false step could lead the bake astray. This need for focus can help quieten our internal chatter, and can, therefore, be very therapeutic.
MINDFUL BAKING: A PARTY FOR THE SENSES
We can involve all of our senses in the process of mindful baking. Paying close attention to how the ingredients look, smell, taste, feel, and even how they sound, can provide a wonderful self-soothing effect. As we begin this bake, why not take some time to really look at the ingredients as you measure them out and add them to the mixing bowl. Notice the texture of the sugar. Is it fine and white? Or coarse and golden brown? Notice the color of the butter and the texture as you cut through it.
Take time to smell the individual ingredients. And then notice how they smell as they become combined. If you’re mixing anything by hand, notice how it feels on your skin. You can even notice how the mixture sounds as you stir it or whisk it. The sounds of cake batter or bread dough as it is kneaded might bring back warm memories and comforting sensations from our childhood.
BASIC RECIPE:
● 1 part peanut butter
● 1 part sugar
● An egg
Blend all ingredients together in one bowl and place the batter onto a baking sheet in flattened teaspoonfuls. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, let cool before serving.
ALLERGEN SUBSTITUTIONS:
Sunflower seed butter, almond butter, and just about any other nut-butter works as a 1-1 replacement for the peanut butter.
OPTIONAL ADD-INS:
To mix up the recipe, just add in any of the following (or experiment with others!).
● Chocolate chips
● Chopped dates
● Raisins
● M&M’s
● Jam (make a small dent in the middle of the flattened dough and just bake with a touch of jam filled into the middle for “PB&J cookies”)
We hope you have the happiest of holidays. And are able to find some true peace this season!
Happy Mindful Baking!