Baking as Self-Care

By Carolyn Graeper

The other day I spent two hours making banana bread when I could have been studying for finals, and I don’t regret it. Spending time in the kitchen is one of my favorite ways to de-stress and also treat myself. I love the entire process of choosing a recipe that I think I will like, finding ingredients, and putting it all together. And enjoying it. When I’m baking anything from scratch, my attention is focused on the ingredients and instructions at hand. Making recipes like these can be a perfect distraction from stressful responsibilities. A house that smells delicious is not bad either. 

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Scones

  1. 2 cups our
  2. 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  3. 2 tablespoons sugar
  4. 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into chunks
  5. 1 1⁄2 - 2 cup heavy cream
  6. 1 cup dried cranberries
  7. 1/3 cup white chocolate chips 

Instructions:

Combine the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the piec- es with the our. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.

Next add 1 1⁄2 cups of heavy cream. Fold everything together being careful not to overwork the dough. If it’s not quite sticking together, add a little more cream. Fold in the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Form 12 medium sized mounds out of the dough. Arrange them on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the pre-heated oven for 16-20 minutes, or until the top just barely turns golden brown.

Recipe from Cupcakes and Cashmere.

Soft-Baked Funfetti Sugar Cookies

  1. 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  2. 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
  3. 1 large egg, at room temperature
  4. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  5. 1 1⁄2 cups (190g) spoon & leveled all-purpose our
  6. 1/4 teaspoon salt
  7. 1 teaspoon baking powder
  8. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  9. 1 teaspoon cream of tartar (cannot be omitted)
  10. 1/2 cup (80g) sprinkles, plus more for sprinkle on top before baking

Instructions:

In a large bowl using a hand- held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the softened butter for about 1 minute on medium speed. Get it nice and smooth, then add the sugar on medium speed until uffy and light in color. Mix in egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed. Set aside.

In a medium size bowl, whisk together the our, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cream of tartar. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 different parts. The dough is quite thick and you may have to stir the rest by hand. Once combined, fold in 1/2 cup sprinkles.

Scoop a large sections of dough (about 2 Tablespoons of dough each) and roll into balls. Make sure the balls are taller, rather than wide. Add a few more sprinkles on top of each ball dough. 

Chill the balls of dough on the cookie sheet for at least 2 hours and up to 48 hours in the refrigerator. This step will prevent spreading in the oven. Preheat oven to 350F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Bake chilled cookie dough for 8-9 minutes. The cookies will appear undone and very soft. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheets for 3 minutes and move to wire rack to cool completely.

Cookies stay soft & fresh forupto1weekatroom temperature. Cookies freeze well. Cookies may be rolled into balls and frozen up to 3 months to bake at a later date. Recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. 

Recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction.