This is a different sort of recipe. It’s more about reaching people where they are, helping memories resurface, and bringing joy and the lovely smell of baking cookies to a community.
Earlier
this month I had the pleasure of spending a week with one of my sisters as she,
her husband, and their cat settled into their new home—Grace Haven Assisted
Living and Memory Care. I can’t say enough good things about that place and the
friendly, caring, responsive staff. They work hard to make the residents feel
welcome and included by offering a wide variety of activities. One of those is
the Cooking Club. How fun is that?
The
week I visited the club made sugar cookies. Many of the residents have memory, mobility,
speech, and hearing issues. Cooking something as cozy and homey as sugar
cookies went a long way towards overcoming those issues for a short while. We
used a packaged mix to make things simpler, and additives like Heath Bar bits
and sprinkles to make the cookies more fun—and delicious!
Sugar
Cookies
Ingredients
1
package Sugar Cookie mix (we made three batches)
Butter,
melted (measured according to package directions)
Egg
(1 per batch)
Heath
Bar bits, peanut butter chips, sprinkles, etc., as desired
Directions
Empty
mix into bowl
Roll
dough into balls and flatten them onto baking sheets lined with parchment
Bake
according to package directions
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The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes
“murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning,
national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop
Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short
stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a
winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect
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Such a sweet idea Molly! I bet your family was thrilled to have you there.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lucy!
DeleteThank you for sharing your family's positive experience with the transition to assisted living.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by the blog, Linda, and leaving your thoughtful comment. It was a week laced with incredible sadness and sweetness (from residents, staff, and cookies).
DeleteI'm delighted that the family, cat and all, are all together in their new home.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to have everyone involved in baking cookies. It's so basic and the smells must connect on a deep level.
Isn't it wonderful that their cat is welcome, too? She's such a dear.
DeleteThe gentleman you see stirring in one of the pictures perked up amazingly when he got that bowl in his hands. Even if he couldn't talk about what he was doing, his joy in stirring and adding sprinkles and chips spoke volumes.
Hearing about good experiences in these settings may help another family make the difficult decision to move a family member. Places that enable and encourage family interaction are so uplifting. Thanks so much for sharing and participating.
ReplyDeleteWe feel so lucky, Marcia.
DeleteMolly, what a lovely post. Thank you for sharing this reminder that food is one of our closest links to memory and to other people, no matter what our abilities or disabilities. Food IS community.
ReplyDeleteSo true, Leslie.
Deleteso sweet! Love this!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Heather!
ReplyDeleteI love seafood and I love Key West!!
ReplyDelete