Baking cookies as a study break in college
Happy September! Aside from being a back-to-school month (well, for those who didn’t start school in August, anyway), it is also a sort of turn-over-a-new-leaf month and a let’s-start-afresh month with various projects. It’s also a wonderful month, now that we’re heading into cooler weather, to whip up a batch of homemade cookies. Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is encouraging everyone to do just that to call awareness to and raise funds to fight childhood cancers.
Peanut-Butter Crisscrosses – a childhood favorite of mine
I’ve made (and eaten) cookies for most of my life, with my mother leading the charge as an avid baker. I think one of my earliest cooking memories is of coming home from school and seeing my mom cutting out cookies with one of my younger siblings. It was probably not until I was about 10 or so years old that I even ate my first store-bought cookie. When she was still able, we re-created that same memory with a couple of my nieces, even using the same rolling pin that I had used as a child, one that belonged to my mother’s mother, and possibly even to her grandmother. Cookies are really a family favorite, as my brother mentions in “C is for Cookie, that’s good enough for me…,” his story about secretly consuming Girl Scout cookies as a child.
Cookies have a more personal connection for me, however, in this case. As I mentioned a few years ago, when I took part in a cookie swap and fund raiser for this organization, this is a cause that is very close to home for me. One of my little nephews was diagnosed with a form of leukemia when he was just a little over three years old. For the past three-plus years, he’s been waging a rocky battle against the disease. He’s had allergic reactions to the medications and to some of the chemotherapy, even spending his most recent birthday in the hospital due to one. I jump every time my sister calls me, hoping that it is not news I am dreading to hear. At this point, he’s in his last stages of treatment, and, then, we get to hang on for a few years, keeping our fingers crossed that he says in remission. We will be holding our breath that he beats this disease for good.
Millionaire’s Shortbread – another cookie swap contribution
There’s several brands who are supporting this project, too, helping to spread the word about Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is hoping that everyone can join forces to cost cookie swaps or to send cookies to family and friends as a way of raising money for and showing support for increased funding for research and remedies for the cancers that take the lives of children each year. Some of these treatments have definitely helped my nephew in his battle, but we all know that there’s still a ways to go. If you can, I encourage you to help out in any way you can with this initiative during the month of September. Here’s a few more links (aside from those in the photos above) to some of the cookie recipes on this website to give you a few ideas for what to make.
Almond Butter Sticks – a family favorite
Chocolate Cookies with Chocolate Chunks – for your chocoholic friends
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies with Peppermint and White Chocolate Drizzle – o.k., these are kinda fancy, but I did make them for last year’s holiday cookie swap
Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt – one of my friend’s favorite of all the cookies that I make
Classic English Shortbread – perfect for teatime or anytime (especially, if you can find some late-season strawberries)
Magic Cookie Bars (aka Seven Layer Bars) – a favorite of one of my ex-bosses and perfect for potlucks and picnics
Parmesan Shortbread Rounds – Who says that all cookies have to be sweet? These are perfect for your next cocktail or dinner party.
Buon appetito!
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