Dear Readers,
Today was a day of epic fails. I actually managed to destroy a pot. A cookie cake literally crumbled at my feet. And then I cried.
I’m writing you this quick letter to explain all of this because I rose out of the misery and decided to make an easy cookie recipe.
You are very welcome.
Love,
Mir
Do you ever feel like you’ve been hit with a Nyquil stick?
As in, your limbs just get heavier. You’re exhausted. You think about people who sleep later in the morning and you feel nothing but intense envy.
It’s the beginning of the school year. I’ll adjust. In the meantime, when I finally drop into bed, I’m sleeping very well. And I’m also rediscovering the joy of candy to keep me going during those conscious hours!
In the mood for something sweet that’s a bit lighter? Today’s your day!
I’m not really sure how to classify this dessert. My grandmother, who taught me how to make it, called it a cake. In fact, she made it for my grandfather’s birthday every year. But darn it, whenever I make it, I just see a pie. So we’ll go with that. Sorry, Grandma.
Whatever you call it, this dessert is fabulous and easy to make. It’s one of those happy recipes that are mind-numblingly easy to create but that will still impress the masses. Impressing your fans is important. You want people to think that you worked so much harder than you did.
I hate epic fails.
Yep, my caramel apples, so lovingly planned to go up today for the first day at school, tanked. See, I had this massive migraine yesterday and I tried (smarty that I am) to make caramel apples while lights were flashing in my field of vision and my head was pounding.
So, yeah. Caramel apples for another day! Something to look forward to, right?
In the meantime, there’s this cake. I love this cake. It’s vegan and gluten-free, but it’s so incredibly delicious. Sounds wrong, I know, but it’s true!
Going back to teaching after a summer off is always quite a wake-up call. You see, we teachers get up early. In my case, crazy lady early. I like to fit my workout in first thing in the morning, so that means I’m up by 4:15 on most days. On the plus side, all I have to do after work is play and do homework with my kids, give them dinner, do baths, and put everyone to bed. And then grade lots of papers.
So yeah, it gets a little bit tiring. Especially after rising at the late hour of 6 A.M. during the warm summer months.
But hey, we always adjust! Human beings are super adaptable. In a week or so, I’ll be feeling no pain. Until then, sugar has to give me some extra energy. Hello, cookies!
His job just got moved to a farther location, and there isn’t much food available for him out there. So I’m trying to be a cute little wife and bake him goodies. Plus, I like a challenge. Not all gluten-free desserts taste like their wheat-filled counterparts. But I promise you that everything I post tastes like I threw flour everywhere.
You can believe me when I say that because my husband won’t eat the desserts that don’t taste like what he remembers food should taste like. He’s picky. But I’m grateful for that, because he picked me!
I’m really trying here, folks. You know, to come to terms with the end of summer. It ain’t so easy.
As a warm-weather enthusiast, I greet cooler temperatures with about as much joy as a toddler greets a shot-wielding nurse. Over the past two weeks, my fellow awesome food bloggers have pulled out the pumpkin, heralding an early start to autumn. It’s still August, people! Rage against the dying of the light!
I’m going to hold out against pumpkin for a bit longer. I mean, I love pumpkin. But I want to use it when I really need it, i.e., when the long sleeves start coming out of my closet.
Today is my first day back at work. Ah, the good ol’ grind. A week from today, my now empty classroom will be full of sleepy teenagers wondering what in the heck happened to their freedom. I will be annoyingly perky and they will hate me. Heh heh heh.
This is year 15 for me as a teacher, and every year, I love it just a little bit more. Teaching is unpredictable and active and just so much fun. I laugh a lot at work. But then, I find people funny. Kids especially. I know that my own kids get really mad when they think I’m laughing at them (i.e., all the time), so I will do a better job of hiding my smiles at work. Maybe.
To make my esteemed colleagues feel a bit better about returning, I’ve made some treats. One of my teacher buddies can’t have gluten, and guess what? She’s been teaching for over 35 years. So I think she deserves these bars!
My birthday cake is kind of a problem every year. You see, I am the family cake baker. So when it comes time for someone to provide a cake for me, there’s usually a debacle of some kind.
This year was no different. My husband tried really hard to get my favorite Baskin Robbins cake, but they now have some non-functioning system where you can only order a cake online, except it doesn’t work. He tried everything. Calling, going in, ordering online. Nobody would let him get a friggin’ cake. So I wound up baking my own. But that’s okay, because then I know it’s perfect!
Beach Week is winding down, everyone. Big sighs. But everything must end. And I say, go out with a bang, not a whimper! I didn’t make that up. Some really great poet did.
The cookies and bars at beach town bake shops are so wonderfully homemade. No, I’m not counting Starbucks. These shops are owned independently, and you can taste the singularity of each baker’s products. It’s like they’ve baked their souls into their treats.
I’d like to believe that I do that, too. So these Heath Blondies represent the heart of what I love best in baking: caramelly, chewy amazingness. Because what else is there? Oh, except Reese’s.
