Baking Day With Mama May Makes a Comeback and Ginger Molasses Cookies

I'm so thankful for my friend, Stephanie. 

She has been my kindred spirit, confidant and best friend for many years now. 

We laugh, we cry, we embrace multiple personalities. 

She's a fantastic mama, wife, nurse and hospitality guru. 

Her home is always open

and her heart is always so full of things to share. 

She's gifted in multiple ways and finds ways to exercise those talents. 

It's been awhile since we've done a 

"Baking Day with Mama May" 

event in our middle school ministry. 

But, Josh and I were both soooo excited when she felt it was time to bring those special times back! 

This November was the kick off. 

On the menu: 

Ginger Molasses Cookies with Icing

I've included the recipe below.

Four wonderful ladies joined us for this baking day and it was perfect! 

All went home with a huge plate of cookies they made. 

Thanks Steph for opening up your home to us!! 

I enjoyed the cookies (I was a taste tester!) so much that I have made them twice since then, once for Josh's life group and once for Thanksgiving. 

Ginger Molasses Cookies with Icing

1 1/2 c. shortening

2 c. sugar

1/2 c. molasses

2 eggs

4 tsp. baking soda

4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 Tablespoon milk

Icing

1 1/4 c. powdered sugar

3 Tablespoons milk

For the cookies, start by creaming together the shortening and sugar. I used a mixer which was faster than doing it by hand. Then add in the molasses, milk and eggs. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then add them to the wet ingredients. Once the dough is well mixed, roll them into small balls. You can also make them bigger, just adjust the cooking time. Bake on an un-greased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for about 7-9 minutes. If you want them a bit chewy, go for the shorter time. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Whisk the icing together until all of the clumps are out. Dip the top of the cookies in the icing, add sprinkles, if desired, before the icing dries. Let them sit on a cooling rack until completely dry. Store in an air tight container or distribute to friends and family! 

Baked Apple Cider Donuts and a Walk Among the Leaves

We enjoyed a beautiful sunny Fall day today. 

The colors of the leaves were so vibrant. 

We had to keep stopping to look up and all around us. 

I think I know a brilliant Painter of such colors. 

Addy has been very motherly lately. 

The babies are everything to her! 

They sleep with her, eat with her and take walks with her. 

She can often be found rocking one and telling them, 

"It's okay, I gotch you." 

I told her after walk we could eat lunch in mommy's car and go to mommy's coffee shop, but she had to eat good bites. She ate everything! Whole wheat tortillas, turkey, cheese. 

So she got her "hot choc." 

Unfortunately she didn't make very great choices afterward, which made me sad. 

She has picked up the word "Stupid." Not that I think it's a slang word, but I don't think it is a good sounding word for little ones to be saying. She knows she isn't suppose to say it and we've explained that when we say that word to people or about people, that it makes them very sad. And we don't want to make people sad. 

So we had some timeouts (plural because she kept saying it during time out). 

Oh these testy terrific two's (do you like my use of "T" words?). 

But today is Monday and Josh has his Life Group tonight. 

So, it's been my goal to bake something for he and his boys every Monday for him to take. 

This weeks treat: 

Baked Apple Cider Donuts with Cinnamon Sugar Topping

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. white-wheat flour

3/4 c. coconut sugar

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

2 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. cloves

1/4 t. nutmeg

Mix all of these dry ingredients in a bowl. 

Mix in a small bowl: 

2 T. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 eggs

1/2 c. apple cider 

1/4 c. buttermilk

Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just mixed (don't overwork). 

But the batter into a large Ziplock bag and cut a hole in the corner. 

Pipe the batter into lightly greased donut pans. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes 

or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

While their baking, melt 2 T. butter in a small bowl. 

And in another small bowl, mix 1/3 c. brown sugar, 1/3 c. organic sugar and 1 T. cinnamon. 

When the donuts come out, quickly dip them in some butter on the top

and then dip them in the sugar mixture. 

Cool completely on a wire rack. 

Their a super fun, cute little snack and very Fall-appropriate! 

I used the mini donut pans, but you could also use the regular size. 

Rain Makes Me Reflective

The weather outside is seriously frightful as I sit to write this post. 

Not that I'm complaining. 

This is the sort of weather I crave and get sort of slap happy over. 

Ridiculous? 

Maybe. But I am a true Northwestern girl. 

Give me more of this cozy weather and I'm content. 

Rain makes me reflective. 

I'm sitting here remembering and reminiscing. 

I've known Josh for over nine years now. Two years of dating. Seven years of marriage. 

I've been a mom for over two years. 

I've been a foster mom for 10 months. 

I've been a daughter for 32 years. 

A daughter-in-law

A sister and a sister-in-law. 

I'm an auntie to four very wonderful kiddos. 

I've been a pastor's wife for over seven years. 

I've been a part of teenagers lives for around 13 years. 

I have a few friends who have remained true and part of my journey faithfully for more than eight years. True friends who have stood the test of time, endured pain with me and rejoiced with me. 

And I them. Friends who remain, even when we have disagreed. 

Friends I'm thrilled to learn from and I hope they desire to learn from me as well. 

I'm learning to pick my battles. 

I still get passionate about a lot of things. But there isn't much that is worth the loss of relationships. 

I dislike fronts and faces. 

I prefer true authenticity. 

When people are real, it makes me want to be real back. 

Rain makes me reflective. 

I've grown up in a Christian home. 

I've grown to love and crave the presence of the Lord and His Spirit. 

I've moved beyond the rules and the should and should not's. 

What I desire is a life without compromise with room for grace and truth. 

Sometimes I live my life in the gray when things aren't spelled out exactly. 

I don't do well with boxes and compartments and making everything fit just so. 

Relationships aren't always organized but often messy. 

I've learned that people matter to God. 

At the end of the day how a person looks really says very little about who that person truly is and what they have endured in their life. But maybe it says something, very small. 

Sometimes my life seems like a big fat dichotomy

I've been poor and rich at the same time. 

I've known emptiness and been full to overflowing. 

I've grieved and celebrated almost in the same breath. 

Simple things have always satisfied me. 

Paper, pen, candle. 

I've not been one for fancy jewelry or extravagant trips. 

I haven't been to Europe or Hawaii or Africa. 

I prefer a rustic log cabin and a big fire place roaring in front of me. 

I'm learning what rest and Sabbath truly look like. 

I'm learning that just because a day or an event is organized in hopes that the Holy Spirit will show up, that he can't be found in the noise or the clatter, but in the whisper. 

But this rain really makes me so very reflective. 

Life is too short. 

And there are far too many victims of injustice to desire living in a victim mentality all our lives. 

When children suffer, I feel as though my breath stops. 

When the unexpected happens, I question a lot. 

When abuse happens in the name of God, I cry and mourn and become quite passionate. 

I wrestle and rest. 

I think and my brain hurts. 

I can't figure it all out. 

I feel lost and yet hopefully found. 

Rain makes me reflective. 

I think back and yet I dream forward. 

I hang on to hope. 

I die a little every day. 

I see glimpses of Him every day. 

In my daughters giggle. 

In my husbands musings. 

In my mothers pain. 

In my fathers injustice endured. 

Glimpses. 

Reflections, like the rain. 

Rain reminds me of what can be washed away. 

Of beauty in Fall leaves that shrivel away into the dead of Winter 

and arise again in the newness of Spring. 

Harvest Granola

Experimenting with homemade granola varieties is super fun. 

I began this experimentation with the thought of making granola but also some granola bars. 

The bars didn't come out as I'd like, but I am still eating them...their great with yogurt. 

But the granola from this batch was awesome! 

For this batch, I mixed: 

4 c. Steel Cut Oats (you can use regular oats as well)

1 c. chopped pecans

1 T. pumpkin pie spice

1/4 t. salt

1 c. unsweetened flaked coconut
3/4 c. pumpkin seeds

Then I mixed the wet ingredients in a separate bowl: 

1/2 c. pumpkin puree

1/4 c. real maple syrup

1/4 c. honey

3/4 c. coconut oil

Then I mixed the wet ingredients in with the dry. 

Next, I halved a pomegranate and removed the seeds. 

I added the pomegranates and 1 c. unsweetened raisins (you can also use Craisins)

I've also made granola where I've added the raisins after the granola is baked, which I prefer. 

But this time I just added it all in at once. 

I spread out the mixture on a non-stick baking sheet

And roasted at 300 degrees for about 45 minutes. 

I love to either eat it as cereal with milk or add it to yogurt or a fruit parfait! 

It's yummy! 

Store it in a mason jar!