high-bar baking

Spring is in the air, literally. Which means that all the foods and all the dishes smell weird and bad. I know I’m a crazy person, but that doesn’t change the fact that… all the dishes smell bad! But you can’t stop the beat. And the baking must go on.

I start my new job on Monday. Same place, different team. Completely different work, completely different people. And that means I both have to and get to start my baking-street-cred journey all over again. (And since I just used “street cred” like that, now you know that I am cool). Naturally, I put some thought into what recipe would be the opening act. 

I made a small mistake at my first job and came in too hot. I made my mom’s Snickers Santa’s Surprises, one of the best recipes I have in my arsenal. It never actually became a problem, but I absolutely went home that day and said to myself, “Well, it’s only downhill from here! That was the best I’ve got!” It wasn’t, of course, but now I know better than to come out swinging on day one. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

But I still needed something good. Something tested. And I wanted something that I personally loved, so that I’d feel proud of it. My bestie suggested that people love chocolate. And I love oats. So here we are. This is the Two Chicks from the Sticks recipe for Chocolate Oat Bars, and boy do they deliver. I’ll also be getting a workout bringing these into the office, because they weigh no less than seven pounds, I swear. It’s an oatmeal cookie crust and topping (same dough, brilliant!) with an inch of easy homemade fudge sandwiched between. And I do mean easy, it was 2.5 minutes in the microwave at half power, I’m not scaling up the word “easy” because I’m experienced or anything. 

These are on my no-fly list because I will demolish them, even though they’re rich as all get out. But the added benefit of the richness is that I can cut them into little squares and have more to share with the floor tomorrow. Wins all around. 

I don’t really know what to expect here. From the job, not from the reception of my baked goods. That’s as predictable as Notre Dame choking in big games (but involves a lot fewer tears!). It’s been a long time since I’ve cast myself loose and latched onto a different job. It’s been a long time since I’ve leapt with only suggestions of a net. I have a lot of optimism that it’ll be better than what I left, but I can’t actually know that. 

I’m ready to be good at my job again. 

“There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.” — Keeley Jones