Bake your happiness
Did you get out of bed on the wrong side this morning? Is no one able to say anything to you without getting a snarl in return? You better make sure to sprint to the kitchen. According to a study among over 650 students published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, baking is the solution to get rid of your bad mood. af te komen.
The researchers came to this conclusion after comparing diaries of 658 American students. They were asked to keep track of their daily activities and emotions for two weeks. On days when the students had their hands in the dough or were stirring in the pan, they were in a much better mood. These findings are not entirely new, as baking has been used as a form of behavioral therapy for psychiatric patients for some time.
Feeling down but definitely not in the mood to spend hours in the kitchen? Today is absolutely the perfect day for that. Pull out your joggers and steal your partner's sweater. These three bakes will be in the oven within ten minutes, and then you can relax on the couch. With cookies and a liter of coffee.
1. Quick Sand Cookies
marrow of 1 vanilla pod
300 grams of flour
75 grams of white caster sugar
75 grams of fine granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
225 grams of butter
- Preheat the oven to 175 degrees.
- Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and mix this with all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Cut the butter into small cubes and knead it into the dry ingredients until you get a smooth dough.
- Divide the dough into two pieces and roll them into two logs. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least fifteen minutes.
- Remove the logs from the refrigerator and cut them into slices of about 1 centimeter.
- Dip the top of the cookie in sugar, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake the cookies for 15 minutes until done.
- Place the cookies on a rack and let them cool and become crispy.
2. Quick Nutella Brownies
350 grams of Nutella
4 eggs
6 tbsp flour
a handful of walnuts
- Preheat the oven to 175 degrees and chop the nuts.
- Whisk the eggs until frothy and add the Nutella. Then sift the flour into the mixture and add the nuts as well. Mix until you have a smooth batter.
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper and pour the brownie mixture into the pan.
- Bake the brownies for 25 minutes. Not longer, or they will become dry, and you don't want that.
3. Oatmeal Cookies with White Chocolate and Cranberries
100 grams butter
85 grams of powdered sugar
marrow of 1 vanilla pod
100 grams of self-raising flour
30 grams of cornstarch
4 tbsp oats
50 grams of white chocolate, roughly chopped
50 grams of cranberries
- Beat the butter with powdered sugar until you have a smooth mixture and also add the vanilla.
- Stir the flour, cornstarch, and oats together and add this mixture to the butter.
- Mix in the chocolate and cranberries.
- Form a log from the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap, and store it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut the log into slices about 1 centimeter thick.
- Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake the cookies for about 13 minutes, until they are light golden brown and still feel soft.
- Place the cookies on a rack and let them cool and become crispy.
