For this week’s self-care post I thought I’d move out my comfort zone to something I’m terrible at. Baking. As a kid I had a massive sweet tooth but over the years it’s kind of disappeared. And I always thought that was a bit weird. To go from loving something so much – and believe me, I loved chocolate – to just being indifferent. But I’ve figured maybe the reason is actually that I’m just a shocking baker. So it’s not that I don’t like sweet treats, it’s just that I can’t cook them for myself. Or maybe I’m just grasping at straws. Either way.
Don’t get me wrong, I love cooking but baking has just never been for me. I’m the kind of person who just throws things into meals until it tastes good but with baking you actually have to be precise. If you put too much oregano in a pasta sauce you may eat it and think ‘yeah, too much’ but you can still eat it. If I fuck up flour to baking soda ratio that cake is going to be inedible. And the whole idea of putting a substance into a bowl to weigh it and then put it into another bowl immediately after just seems like madness to me. So it’s just not for me. But when I was thinking of what to write today I realised, hang on, if I don’t at least reference the snow am I even a millennial?
So here we are.
When it’s bloody freezing outside there’s nothing we’d rather do than lock ourselves inside, put the heating on full blast, get under a blanket and watch Netflix whilst eating junk food. So I figured I’d give you a couple of vegan comfort recipes I’ve tried recently that actually turned out edible. I know, I’m really selling these, right? No honestly, they taste delicious. And they’re probably at least fractionally better for you than that bag of donuts from Tesco. Also these recipes are so simple otherwise I never would have made them!
Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp ground flax seed
Method
Preheat oven to gas mark 4.
Mix the flax seed with 3 tablespoons of water and refrigerate. It’s ready when it looks mucousy.
Mix the sugars together with the peanut butter in a bowl. Once combined, add the baking soda too.
When the flax egg is the right consistency add that to the mixture and stir.
Place the mixture on to a baking tray in small spheres using a tablespoon measurer as your scooper.
Cook for 8-10 mins. Leave to cool. Enjoy!
Original Recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=914pRN9GLiU&t=326s
Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups blueberries
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 soy milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup agave nectar
Method
Preheat oven to gas mark 5 and get your cupcake cases ready.
Mix the wet ingredients together in a bowl.
Next stir in the dry ingredients, then the blueberries.
Divide the mixture evenly amongst your cupcake cases.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Original Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/healthy-blueberry-mini-muffins/14280/
Disclaimer: Now if you’re reading this thinking ‘ugh whole wheat spelt flour, where am I going to get that?’ Well for one, any supermarket, you oaf. But two, just feel free to sub any of these ingredients. For example, use white flour instead. You could sub the flax egg for a chia egg or half a banana or an actual egg if you don’t care about it being vegan. You can use any peanut butter you have in your cupboard, though I think crunchy works nice. You could switch soy milk for almond milk. You could use just brown sugar instead of two types. The substitutions are endless. So stop making excuses and just go get baking.
Short Skirt / Long Jacket – Cake (See what I did there?)
sarahwilliamsandco 
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