Baking Mojo Has Returned!

I really need to change the title of this blog to "Fat Vegan." This is the result of swearing off sugar this week. I mean, in all honesty, I was a crappy baker before giving up dairy. I think I started baking for the same reason I started listening to classical music: there were no bad memories attached, I didn't know the territory and, it was all so new.

So fast forward and here I am with a new plateful of sugar. I had to. I thought I lost my baking mojo. I've made these cherry almond cookies before to perfection. Well, note to self: do not cook without my glasses or contacts. Last week, I must have grabbed a 1/2 cup measure, rather than a 1/3 cup. Baking is such a delicate chemical reaction. Whoda thunk that a mere 1/6 c. could put one into baking hell.

And hell it was. I watched as the cookie splooged all over the sheet in the oven, rather than holding their majestic shapes. They were like little shapeshifters all going to liquid. There was nothing I could do to help them. I left them in a few more minutes than called for - hoping to over-bake them into submission. So what? They would be flat rather than high.

It got worse.

They each left a little oil slick on the parchment paper and my hands. I was crushed. I was about to throw them all out and they got a last minute reprieve: my husband ate them all. Not at one sitting, but I think he felt sorry for them and managed to polish them over over the course of a few days.

So today, after coming home from getting materials for our soon-to-be-built 3-bin composting station (there will be much, much more on that), I thought I'd bribe reward my husband for his future efforts with a new batch. While I was at it, I made some brownies, too.