Friends, hello! Happy Sunday and Happy December 38th to you. I will enter January when I’m good and ready. Until then you’ll find me mentally packing up 2023 and quieting my mind. Let’s just go our own speed. Is that allowed?
I hope you had a wonderful holiday season. I spent some sweet time in Los Angeles with my family, celebrating the life of my grandmother and baking cakes with my mom. I spent the rest of the holidays with my Texas family, riding dirt bikes (Lord have mercy), and ringing in the January I have yet to acknowledge around a campfire with friends.
It feels so hard to get the proper rest we need in those few days between Christmas and New Years. Let’s just sneak that rest where we can like, here and now. Go easy this Sunday, friends. Here’s our offering for today!
• If it must be January, let it be a Gentle January. Our friend Karlee introduced me to the concept of an easy flowing January a few years ago and it changed my perspective on how I start the new year. No harsh resolutions. No big changes. Lots of hot tea. Let us remember that it’s the dead of winter and we can bloom again with all our best intentions in the spring. Until then, one very lovely way to brighten these winter days is with a squeeze of citrus. May I recommend these Small Batch Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins after you read today’s list? (Joy the Baker)
• I’d like to introduce you to my new best friends, Betty and Sarah. Betty (and Sarah) Bake Fluffernutter Cookies like a couple of mini professionals. These two brought us the real question of the year “Would you rather slide down rainbows or jump on clouds?” Clouds – all the way. (YouTube)
• Another incredible important question to ask yourself this year: Do You Want To Be Known For Writing, or For Your Swift Email Responses? Let these be the anti-resolutions you need to stay sane this year. (Catapult)
• Thank goodness we’re not glorifying BUSY anymore: What To Do When You Feel Too Busy (Substack)
• The best movie I watched over the holiday break was The Holdovers. Have you seen it? It’s charmed and complex with Paul Giamatti acting as the unlikable, hard-nosed, lightly buzzed, boarding school history teacher set to look over the holdover kids during Christmas break. The favorite part of the movie was every scene with Da’Vine Joy Randolph. The quiet constant heartbreak. She played it perfectly. (YouTube, Hollywood Reporter)
• Anderson Cooper’s words on the grief he’s carried for most of his life really struck me. Maybe you need to hear them, too. (Instagram)
• The King Arthur Baking recipe of the year are these Super-Sized Chocolate Chip Cookies. The reviews are good but I’ll say, I have my suspicions. Do they even look good? Seriously with all the fuss of the tangzhong method? I’m taking this recipe to Los Angeles to have a bake off with Dad comparing his browned butter cookie to King Arthur’s recipe of the year. Of course we’ll get to the bottom of this. (King Arthur Baking, Joy the Baker)
• Our friend Amy started a Substack which is perfect because we don’t get enough of her great posts here. Definitely subscribe to Reading, Writing, Ranting, Recommending. (Substack)
• This next link is mostly for my mom (hi Mom!), but if you’re also a succulent grower, you’re going to love this succulent hack. (Instagram)
• On my list of things to make this week is jalapeno cilantro simple syrup for these Non-Alcoholic Margaritas. (Pinch of Yum)
• For the last few months I’ve really come to grips with the fact that over-caffeinating myself does me no good. It’s not cute for the heart rate alone, but the anxiety? Girl, chill. I replaced this Reishi Mushroom Herbal Tea for my second cup of coffee and you guys I swear it’s not gross at all. It’s actually mild, earthy, and entirely pleasant with a splash of milk. (Teeccino)
17 Responses
I made the KAF cookies recently, and I have to say I loved them. They were not cakey at all. Nice and chewy in the middle (maybe I underbaked, but I was happy with the results). They reminded me of Levain Bakery cookies, with a nice gooey center. Yum!
Ok I really need to keep an open mind about these cookies! I’ll make them in a few weeks with Dad. I’m glad you liked them, Jaon. I’m so curious!
The Holdovers – excellent! Perfect movie for the week between Christmas and New Years! And I am anti-resolution every year! But – my goal this year is to improve my sleep. I started last week with leaving my phone in another room when I go to bed. It has really made a difference – no more middle of the night scrolling. It may still take me a while to fall back asleep – but I do quicker than if I was scrolling on the phone.
Your Dad’s chocolate chip cookies are in my top 3, I will wait impatiently for the comparison. I have seen a couple people making them on Instagram and I am intrigued
I love your Dad’s cookies, so I am looking forward to a comparison between his recipe and King Arthur’s. Happy New Year Joy!
If you haven’t listed to Anderson Cooper’s podcast I highly recommend it. He is so raw and honest and his conversations with others regarding grief are really eye-opening – I highly recommend it.
OHH, The Holdovers. SUCH a delight.
I’m all over starting January some other time – like December 55th maybe! But this weekend’s snowstorm did not get the memo and forced me outside for some serious physical labor. However, I took it slowly and stopped to enjoy and photograph my winter garden. That will be the subject of this week’s blog post. A double win, stopping to enjoy the snow’s beauty and capturing it to share. Not to mention taking the time to rest between heavy shovelfuls of snow.
I read the comment that the KAF cookies were a little cakey, so someone saved me the effort. I’ll go for your Dad’s cookies thank you very much.
December 38th, I’m going to borrow this concept. January can wait a bit longer. Thanks Joy, may I ask you a question, ten years ago, did you ever picture yourself dirt bike riding and living in Texas? What a long strange trip it’s been.
P.S. my money is on your Dad’s cookies, they are the best!
Love all of this, especially slow January and not entering it until we are good and ready
I made your mother’s Cinnamon Bundt cake this past week. Have been enjoying every morning with my 1st cup of coffee, nice way to start the day & New Year. Glad to read reviews on the KAB cookie..I just did not want to go out and purchase bread flour . Have saved me a trip and will stick with the tried and true
I am loving Teechino as a coffee replacement too! Now if I want a coffee-like beverage after noon, I opt for Teechino. I order the original (no flavoring) directly from their website. I find the “tea” version works perfectly as a coffee substitute, and brewing the “coffee” version in a pour over or bialetti makes a strong brew that can stand up to dilution when iced.
Just HAD to check out the KAB recipe and was delighted to find YOUR brown butter CC pecan cookie is listed on their site! It was Love at first glance for me. On looks alone, if both cookies were presented to me on a platter….. I’d grab the whole platter of
YOUR’s/ DAD’s and run off to stuff my face. That’s just me.
Your recipes are always a hit at my house- that bit of extra love coming from you and yours stand out.
I made the KA cookies yesterday…. meh. Not my fav and I had high hopes. They were very cakey , bland and felt more like some hybriod scone/muffin, Won’t be making them again,
No need to EVEN attempt a different cookie…your father’s wins hands down Everytime…only one I make.I was getting stressed about January but not anymore..LOVE LOVE gentle January.I will continue this tradition for many years to come.When I’ve had to much fa la la I will dream about gentle January..lol I’ve added soups for dinner…lots of tea…little naps and a bath at the end of everyday.Oh and a new leather journal to write down my wish list for books and also to write down what I’ve read( at 57 I re-read a few lol)
We need a Cherries Jubilee recipe stat!