Total relaxation

I don't know what it is about cooking and baking that totally relaxes me. Maybe it's the sense of accomplishment? Or perhaps the wonderful feeling I get when I've created something with my own two hands and a touch of imagination. The finished product, the dish or dessert is a microcosm of say an oil painting or even a skyscraper that one has laboured on for months / years.

It's a different feeling from what I experience after I'm done with an essay, project or assignment. No doubt I feel happy and relieved after handing in an essay or finished what I need to do for a client. With cooking it's just different. The work is right before me, active, sizzling, steamy and smelling wonderful! It's just so tangible.

Today I came home from work feeling tired and worried about having to move soon. I went to the kitchen and looked in my cupboards. Flour, eggs, sugar, nutella, margarine - all kinds of crap I'll probably have to throw away because I can't possibly move all my stuff AND the stuff in the kitchen all by myself. Then the idea hit me. The urge to bake! (no surprise there I guess lol)
No recipe - just what I remember from the other times I've baked, instinct and some luck.

My foolproof nutella cookies recipe:

Combine equal amounts of butter and sugar and beat until white and fluffy. Add pinch of salt. (Every time I bake, I always throw in a pinch of salt somewhere!)

Add nutella and mix. Keep adding until satisfied with level of nutella-ness. Be sure to stir and combine well.

Add egg. Combine well.

Add flour until you're happy with the consistency of the cookie batter. It shouldn't be a dough, but it cannot be too runny. Ok sorry I'm not being very specific. Right, lets see... it should be the consistency of glue - hey! :)

Scoop little spoonfuls of cookie batter onto a baking tray lined with foil. Chuck into preheated oven (at whatever temperature between 190 to 240 deg Celcius. I find it doesn't actually make a difference as long as you keep within that range). Wait 12 minutes. (At this point, I popped into the bathroom to have a nice hot shower!) Take it out. If it doesn't look ready, chuck it back in for another few minutes. Just don't let it burn cuz it tastes nasty!

Once you've taken your cookies out of the oven PLEASE FOR PETE'S SAKE DON'T TRY TO LIFT IT OFF THE BAKING SHEET. At this point, most cookies will still be too soft and if you mess around with them they're gonna break and stick. Let them cool and as they do, they will harden and lift off the tray nicely.


My cookies in weird trapezium shapes and me happy and fresh out the shower! :) Trust me they tasted amazing. (My eyes look so sepet without make up! :S)

Ok I'm off to bed now!