Cooking Up Some Memories

I’ve never been much of a chef. In my single years, I lived off of cereal, yogurt, and freshly-juiced fruits and veggies. Ah, yes. The days when I was thin. 

Now that I’m a wife and mama, I cook by necessity. I try to make it good; I switch it up, add variety, keep it interesting. Sometimes it’s a little too interesting. For example, ground turkey with curry and pineapple was a unanimous no-go. Cooking’s a gamble. 

Baking Therapy

But baking? Baking is totally different because, while cooking makes meals, baking makes treats. And I ever-so-dearly love treats. I don’t need much of an excuse to pull out the mixing bowl and set the oven to 350. A rainy day? Company coming? Snack cupboard looking a little empty? Time to bake. 

Baking could be cathartic if I didn’t have little kids. Measuring, mixing, baking, savoring…it would be like kitchen therapy. But I do have little kids. Often the me who starts baking isn’t the same me who finishes it. When I start, I’m chipper, optimistic, and usually have the baby in bed for a nap. Toward the end of the process, I’m often frazzled, snippy, and I almost certainly have the baby clinging to my calves, beseeching me to balance her on one arm while I knead dough one-handed. It’s an art I’m improving on a weekly basis. 

Messy and Worth It

The only way to make baking practical as well as fun in this season of life is to include the toddler while the baby sleeps. I didn’t get much practice in the kitchen growing up, and that probably played a factor in my limited culinary repertoire when I moved out. I’d like my kids to feel at home in the kitchen when they’re young so that, in later years, they can equate time cooking and baking with joy instead of drudgery. 

Ergo, my three-year-old is my baking buddy. As soon as he sees the flour, a measuring cup, or (joy of joys!) a bag of chocolate chips on the counter, he instantly climbs up to see how he can help. Dirty feet on the counter, dirty hands in the ingredients, but oh-so-eager to participate. Of course I shoo him toward the sink to wash up, but afterward he’s welcome to help. Will it take longer? Dear me, yes. It will be much longer and messier, but it will also be much more worthwhile. I want to make more than cookies; I want to make memories. 

But also, I really want to make cookies. 

Fall Goodness

If you’ve been reading this blog for very long, you know I don’t usually talk about cooking except to bemoan how long it takes. But I recently had some friends over for dinner, which prompted me to make a scrumptious dessert. It was so scrumptious that I wanted to share it with you. It’s sweet, decadent, and seasonal—the perfect fall treat. 

It’s pumpkin cheesecake bars. 

Is your mouth watering? Mine is. 

Enjoy the Process

Honestly, I should give a few disclaimers right off the bat, but instead I’m going to start by telling you how good it is. It’s good. Really good. I’m not a huge pumpkin person, but the hint of pumpkin in this dessert is just right. Really, it’s worth a try. 

Now, the disclaimer: the recipe does have four separate steps. If I had remembered that before getting halfway into the preparation, I may have stuck with the apple crisp and bailed on the bars. Fortunately, I forgot about the hassle and forged ahead. The steps do leave you with a bit of down time while you wait for one layer to cool or another to bake, so have a good audiobook handy and enjoy the process! (And make sure the baby is napping for at least half of it.)

The Secret Ingredient

Now, I know that you’re not supposed to mess with baking recipes. There’s no real wiggle room with the ingredients or ratios. Cooking may be an art, but baking is a science. You don’t mess with science. 

But I did mess with this nearly-perfect recipe a wee bit. Just a very wee bit! I’ll tell you my secret: I added crushed gingersnaps to the graham cracker crust. The extra spice—the snap, if you will—was the perfect complement to the heavy richness of the cream cheese layers. It’s totally up to you, of course, but I was happy with it. 

You’ll Want to Try This

Now, without further ado, please behold this recipe. I’m going to send you to the original post since I didn’t write the recipe, and I don’t think I’m allowed to just paste it in here. Just click the picture and it will take you to their site. (And no, I’m not getting anything out of this recommendation. It was just super good, and I thought you’d enjoy it.) 

You’re welcome, and happy fall, ya’ll!