Restoring My Faith

The July Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of The Food Network.

I wrote a post a little while ago about how things just seemed to be a bit off for me in the kitchen. Unhappily, that trend has continued.

I don’t really know what’s wrong, but it’s really bothering me. It seems as though lately, when I bake or cook something, it’s just off. Recipes don’t turn out the way I expect or even worse, I make mistakes while preparing something.

For example, just a few days ago, I made a silly mistake that cost me one-and-a-half pounds of butter, six eggs and a whole lot of almond flour.

That one hurt. Maybe I’ll work up the will to tell you about it soon. Maybe not.

I’ve spent a lot of time wondering what’s wrong and I’ve came to the realization that when your heart’s not in it, it just doesn’t work.

And my heart just hasn’t been in it lately. I’m tired. I feel like I’ve spread myself a bit thin in certain areas and it’s all manifest in the fact that I haven’t felt much like baking or cooking.

You can’t force desire. If you do, you end up with mediocrity.

So I’ve just let myself be. I’ve simplifed things. I’m not going to force myself to test eight different recipes in one weekend when all I really want to do is sit outside with these books.

When it’s DB challenge time, I almost always try the recipes on the weekend and I’ll cram in tonnes of other baking at the same time.

I’ll push out four or five different products and bring them all to work on a Monday.

Not this time.

This time, I just focussed on one small thing. I made the Milan Cookies and the Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies that were the challenge put forth by this month’s host: Nicole of Sweet Tooth.

I mixed and stirred and piped and baked and snapped some photos. And wouldn’t you know, they turned out really well.

I still don’t feel like I’m my usual self in the kitchen, but these cookies turned out nicely.

I was happy. I even started thinking about what to bake next and I haven’t felt like that in quite a few weeks now.

No matter what, you have to keep the faith.

Ciao!

The original recipes for the Milan Cookies and the Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies are Gale Gand via The Food Network.