Baking: A Stress Reliever

Have you ever had a really rough day? I mean the kind of day where you just want to eat all your feelings and become a vegetable on the couch? I have but I have learned for me the best thing to do is to roll up my sleeves and get a little dirty. There is something about baking that takes my mind to another place and relaxes me. I am not sure if it is the precision of the recipe or the monotony of the process. Baking is a science so you have to be accurate in your measurements. It seems to me that when I am focusing on this part of the baking process then I can let the stresses of the day go. After the measuring step a lot of the time the construction of the baked goods are repetitive and you can just let you mind go and lean into the rhythm. There is nothing better than putting on some easy listening music and kneading a dough or rolling out cookies.

I love the idea of getting lost in the decoration, the taste testing, adjusting of flavors, creating new things from old recipes. Have you ever taken a basic sugar cookie recipe and elevated it with a few simple ingredients: cinnamon or candied ginger or lemon peel. How about taking a dry cake, cutting it into cubes and pouring over a custard and baking off...bread pudding. The possibilities are endless. As long as you have a good imagination you can create delicious desserts from almost anything and the smell of something delicious baking in the oven is sure to raise your spirits on the dreariest day.