It is the time of year that everyone starts to shout about family time, being thankful, being generous and kind…yada yada yada.
I know that those are all good things, but why do we wait until the end of the year to start pontificating about what we should be doing all year long? It is human nature to start reminiscing at certain milestones and it is my opinion that as we reflect on the past year we think about our regrets and shortcomings throughout the first 11 months and we want to make up for it with peace on Earth and stuff like that.
Don’t get me wrong, I want peace on Earth, but I want it all year. I am not perfect. I have issues with bad drivers, and people who don’t say thank you when you hold the door for them, I cuss (a lot, man do I love cussing), and have a million other things that I can improve upon. My point is that I am working on those daily and not waiting until the end of the year, the winter solstice, the new year, etc. to make a change. I am starting with the man in the mirror… (props to the king of pop). So continue to give to charity and help your fellow man. It is as simple as a smile to the homeless person on the corner or taking someone’s grocery basket back to the store for them. Gestures do not have to be grandiose to be effective; you just have to start somewhere.
So bake some cookies and take them to someone who could use a treat, then sit and have a cup of coffee and enjoy each other’s company and then do it again next month or two months from now. Don’t wait until next holiday season. Life is too short and you never know what lies ahead for you or the ones you love.
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies (adapted from Claire Robinson’s version)
1 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place the racks in the upper and lower third of the oven.
In a medium bowl, mix the peanut butter, sugar, vanilla and egg until well combined. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the mixture about 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Flatten the mounds with the tines of a fork, making a crosshatch pattern on the cookies. Sprinkle coarse salt on top of the cookies.
Bake until golden around the edges, about 10 minutes, switching the position of the sheets halfway through baking. Transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough
1 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place the racks in the upper and lower third of the oven.
In a medium bowl, mix the peanut butter, sugar, vanilla and egg until well combined. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the mixture about 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Flatten the mounds with the tines of a fork, making a crosshatch pattern on the cookies. Sprinkle coarse salt on top of the cookies.
Bake until golden around the edges, about 10 minutes, switching the position of the sheets halfway through baking. Transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough
I wish you all many blessings now and in the coming year.
Trace
