There are few things I love more than a warm cookie right out of the oven. Even in the middle of summer. There is something so comforting about the warmth, the chewiness, and, of course, the sweetness. When I was a kid the first thing I learned to make on my own was cookies. There were all kinds of stumbling blocks along the way as I experimented with baking. Some of them were fiascoes, like the time I used a tablespoon of baking soda instead of a teaspoon. But some of them turned into specialties, like the time I let the chocolate chips get too chopped up in the food processor and the result were sugar cookies with chocolate swirls running through them. My dad called them “spider cookies” and they were his favorite for years.
And yet for years I experienced a combination of craving and guilt when it came to baked goods. I was constantly trying to control myself, which often left me wanting more and thinking about the leftovers incessantly. I would negotiate with myself, finding ways to get another cookie or rationalizing why I should have “just one more.” It was exhausting and stressful and, honestly, took a lot of joy out of eating the treats. So finding a balance in my life where I could eat what I enjoyed and not feel deprived was essential. One of the ways to find that balance was to find ways to make some of my favorite baked goods healthier, but still deliciously satisfying. The interesting thing is that once I found the right balance and was comfortable with the foods I was eating, the intense cravings started to dissipate. The enjoyment was there and the forbidden-ness was gone. It was a revelation!
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