Week 2 1/2 : Snickerdoodles

Today I chose to bake snickerdoodles.  Yes I realize it has only been a day since I last baked, BUT,  life is short so please pass the cookies ☺  Snickerdoodles are my son Ryan's favorite cookie.  I used to think of snickerdoodles as a fall cookie due to their cinnamon flavor.  Now because Ryan likes them so much, and requests them so frequently, I make them all year long.  The last time I made snickerdoodles, I had my children along with my niece Yvonne and my nephew Ian help me (see picture above).  Yvonne and Ian were sleeping over at our house "in the forest"  (my niece thinks we "live in the forest" because we live in the country and our road has a lot of trees).   It was a lovely summer day and the kids had a great time making snickerdoodles, and of course, eating them.  It was also the first day of my attempt at running.  When I say running I use the term very loosely.  It was more like intervals...ya know run a minute and then walk a minute.  I have to confess that I hated every single second of it.  Any one who knows me has heard my infamous quote about the sport..."no good comes from running!"  Well I stand by that quote and to this day I still HATE to run.

 In truth I am envious of those individuals that like to run for sport, as I desperately want and need that feeling of zen in my life.  I  have often heard about that "runners high" and, pardon the pun, but I  have been chasing it to no avail.  The holidays are right around the corner and this year I am just not feeling the holiday spirit at all unfortunately.  This will be the first Christmas without my beloved Mom, who passed away in January.  To quote my sister Amy, "...if it weren't for the kids I wouldn't even acknowledge Christmas this year.'"  Well I have to admit that's how I feel too.  In fact, today was a particularly bad day, so I said to my husband, who was home from work sick ('tis the season)..."I need to get out of this funk...that's it... I am going to bake cookies ...again"  And it worked!  There it was... my runners high.  No sports bra or huffing and puffing required.  Who would ever have suspected that I could find my "runners high" in flour, sugar, and a cup of butter.  I completely realize that running is much healthier than baking and then eating cookies, but sometimes it's more important to "exercise" our spirit... not just our body.  I also completely realize that drowning my sorrows in a bowl of dough isn't exactly healthy, but just for today it worked.  When I began I was sad and downright angry. Soon after I began mixing the dough, I began thinking about my Ryan, and how happy he would be to see his favorite sweet treat when he came home from school.  Shortly thereafter as I rolled the dough in the cinnamon sugar mixture, I felt a bit better...my "runners high" took over and I was "in the zone."  It's pretty hard to stay miserable with the heavenly scent of butter and cinnamon wafting through the house.  I still miss my mom of course, but for those few fleeting moments in the kitchen, my spirit was at peace...  just like my sweet Mom would want. 

As far as whether or not I'll start running again, I think it's safe to say "not at this time."  To those crazy runner people (like my husband) who would balk at my version of the "runners high" I have only these words..."oh well, that's the way the cookie crumbles"  ☺

Here is the link to the recipe that I used:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gale-gand/snickerdoodles-recipe/index.html