By: Elliana Nath
Baking is a really great way to help distract yourself from a stressful workday, tough day at school, or a particularly difficult part of life. The act of baking requires all or most of your attention and acts as a little vacation away from something that may be making you anxious or a bit stressed. It can be great for those with anxiety since recipes usually follow a particular routine, which can be comforting; and other times, you can express your own creativity in a recipe by trying something new.
Baking can also help someone struggling with anxiety or depression to enter a mindful state, almost meditative, where their focus is entirely on baking — and less on whatever is causing their anxiety or depression. Mindfulness is a great strategy for combating either of these conditions and can help calm someone down or just take the stress away from a particular situation.
There is also so much satisfaction that can be derived from baking. So much personality and creativity can go into the baking process, and just the time it takes to produce a dozen cupcakes or cookies can make the final product that much more satisfying. While not all forms of baking are created equally, easier types — like cookies — can be really easy to make, but also so satisfying once they are done. Finding an easy task to be successful at and proud of when finished can be very helpful for someone struggling with their mental health.
Personally, if I’m struggling to study for a test on a difficult subject, I always find myself baking some cookies to cope… obviously they are delicious, but they are even better for soothing my anxiety since I make them every time — like comfort food. I usually resort to using prepared cookie dough mix just because it is easier, but I can definitely suggest this ‘peanut butter blossom cookie’ recipe I make whenever my grandmother comes over for Christmas:
Ingredients:
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup peanut butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (a little extra for rolling cookies)
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Hershey kisses
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375º and prepare two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, and add milk and vanilla extract, mixing until combined. Gradually add ingredients from the small bowl, stirring on low until combined.
4. Roll a tablespoon of dough into a ball, then roll in sugar. Place on a baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the dough, leaving space between each cookie.
5. Bake until cookies have poofed and no longer look raw (roughly 8–10 minutes).
6. Top with a Hershey kiss immediately, then allow time to cool before serving.