Can Baking Change the World?

                                Can Baking Change the World?



     I am asking this question because over the past few days I have come across two articles that propose the idea that baking can indeed change the world. The first article I read, from Food and Wine Magazine, Nov. 2011, states that "cookies can change the world." The article goes into how Cookies for Kid's Cancer was launched, which helps people organize bake sales to raise money for pediatric cancer research. Gretchen Holt-Witt went on to publish a cookbook titled Best Bake Sale Cookbook. All author proceeds go to Cookies for Kid's Cancer. This is one example of how baking cookies can raise needed funds for a worthy cause, and by doing so change the world for the better. 

    The other article related to the topic of baking potentially changing the world comes from Cooking Light Magazine, Nov. 2012. The title of the article hit me right between the eyes, and compelled me to bake a pie! Really. The article, "Pie as Holiday Therapy: Don't fret, the road to calm is through flour and fruit" was almost as satisfying as eating a piece of pie. The author of the article makes a strong connection between baking pies and the therapeutic elements involved in this timeless endeavor. 

    The author makes the point that baking pie evokes childhood memories of comfort and happiness. In addition, there is a sense of making something for others to enjoy, along with the therapeutic effect of doing something you really love to do. The author, Jennifer Drawbridge, states "one of the nicest things anyone can do for me when I'm feeling stressed is to ask me to bake a pie, or five pies, or twenty." I have baked 12 pies in one day to donate to a local Thanksgiving dinner, and it did feel good to give them away. I also fully agree that baking of any kind is a stress reliever, unless you are under pressure, with the clock is ticking, and the guests due to arrive any minute. I remember well how under these conditions, while baking an apple pie for my Dad and a cake from scratch for my Mom...I left the sugar out of the cake! Luckily the boiled frosting helped mask the forgotten sugar.

    I fully subscribe to this new mantra, and in our family, baking changes the mood, environment, and appetite of everyone in the home.

~Kathy~