Many of the recipes were actually passed down from my mom’s mom - my granny. So many times my kitchen is filled with the love of many generations. It's such a comforting feeling. The problem is, many of my favorite recipes don’t exactly fit into my plan of a healthier lifestyle - lots of sugar, gaggles of butter, white flour galore. I am 100% committed to cooking healthy meals for my family, but I miss my mom and my granny too much to give up something that brings me so close to them. What’s a girl to do?
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| Granny secretly started a cookbook for me, we found it after she died. |
So, I promised my daughter we would make no-bake cookies tonight. This is probably my most beloved of my granny’s recipes; I have been eating them since birth and making them myself for the past 15 years. Best. Cookies. Ever. Here is the recipe:
2 Cups Sugar
1/2 Cup Cocoa
1 Stick Butter
1/2 Cup Milk
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
In heavy pan mix well and over medium heat, bring to a boil stirring constantly. When boiling good, turn heat to low and boil 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in:
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| Love reading recipes in their own handwriting. |
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
3 Cups Oatmeal (quick type)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 Cup Nuts (optional; I usually leave this out.)
Line cookie sheets with wax paper and drop by teaspoonfulls.
Right when we were getting ready to make them, I realized I was all out of cows milk. I did, however, have some coconut milk. The thought of messing with this meticulously written recipe really freaked me out. It felt, somehow, disgraceful. Not to mention I was worried they wouldn’t taste the same. And even if they were still good, if they didn’t taste the same, well, it just wouldn’t be the same. But a promise is a promise. So we substituted 1/2 cup coconut milk for the cow’s milk.
They tasted EXACTLY the same! I was so excited I was literally dancing a jig of glee in my kitchen, with a mouthful of cookie. And as I stuffed one cookie after another into my mouth, I was overwhelmed with inspiration. I could do this to all my mom and granny’s recipes! It will take courage, patience, and a lot of trial and error, but I can keep on substituting ingredients until the recipes are healthy - or at least healthier. The no-bake recipe will definitely need some more tweaking before it can be considered healthy - but hey, Rome wasn't built in a day.
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| This is what love looks like... |
Healthy meals, wonderful memories, and still the taste of love. You just can’t beat that. Happy dance!
***This post was originally written under my previous blog name, Zen and the Art of Cloth Diaper Maintenance.***
