Did you know that studies back up the fact that baking can actually work as an antidepressant?
I can only talk from my experience here since I haven't actually read any of those articles, BUT WHAT I DO KNOW is that baking and cooking in general helps me feel relaxed in some way that not even videogames, reading or waching movies can; The fact of interacting with all of these distinct and unique elements to create a whole and that this mix of ingredients can be appreciated with so many of our senses goes beyond my mind.
Don't you ever find yourself walking through the streets scrolling down in your facebook/twitter feed and suddenly you come across this delicate aroma that tingles around your nose and flows through it? And then you snap back into reality and you recognize the smell, "Oh, the sweet smell of recently baked bread!" Or even cookies or a cake! Then you feel like what incited your nose is also inciting your mouth by watering it and then your feet start to move and ¡BOOM! You're inside of a bakery right now and your sense of sight is suddenly also drawing you into the sweet universe of baked goodies.
If you like eating baked sweets (We all secretly do, come on) imagine what it feels to do the whole YOU BAKING YOUR OWN SWEETS PART! Doesn't it sound amazing? Doesn't it fill your eyes with tears and your mouth with the need to eat sweets? Working with a lot of things to make an end product that people will enjoy fills me with determination, joy and happiness. That's one of the main reasons of why I want to become a chef and why I simply enjoy cooking and baking a lot... "For people to enjoy what I do."
I'll leave you guys with a step to step guide of me making some simple butter cookies because I found myself stressed and anxious. I found that waiting for them to bake was a little bit relaxing and the energy that I used in making the dough helped me to chill for a bit. Please enjoy!
When the whole mix was malleable and dry enough that it would not stick to the warmness of my hand, I decided that it was done for cookieing shaping purposes!!!
Once the cookie dough was put in the cookies tray it was time to put it into the oven! (Hurray, there was some cookie dough left! I'm definitely not gonna eat it raw (???????))
I turned my small oven on with the switch and I just put it on slow bake during 30 minutes
I swear that whenever i'm cooking or baking time just seems to slow down a notch because god likes to see me suffer while i'm waiting for my food to be done (I KNOW YOU'RE READING THIS, GOD)
And god's punishment was the bright idea that came to me because I wanted to relax while waiting, I put on some Diana Krall for some nice jazzy soft tunes and I completely got lost in it, which caused my babies to get a little toaster than I expected (I still blame the higher beings up there)
Finally my babies were done and I just couldn't dare myself not to try at least one even if it meant burning my fingertips and my tongue as well. I ended up touching the tray and burning myself before being able to even touch one, so I decided that it was better to put them to rest while they heated off
When they were finally done I just had to grab a good old cup of cold milk and just enjoy my cookies with it, the warm fluffiness from the cookies and the cold refreshing gulp of milk synced up to perfection inside my mouth and whatever anxieties and troubles that I was having before baking this whole ordeal were just right out of my mind where I couldn't even remember what I was worried about.
Do you also bake, cook or do anything related to this medium? Even if you do or don't, never feel afraid to express your opinion on my blogs! How do you make your cookies? Do you have a special recipee? What do you enjoy your cookies the most with? What are your favorite kind of cookies? Do you only buy but never bake? It's just as easy to leave an upvote and a comment and i'll happily answer! I hope to see you again around here with whatever i'm writing next <3