Bake With Me To Be Stress Free

Photo credit: Pinterest

By: Kali Crowe 

With graduation, AP exams, and the pressure of trying to raise grades at the last minute, many students at Jenks High School are feeling overwhelmed. However, it’s important to make sure that our mental health remains a priority. As someone who has experienced their mental health deteriorate, I’ve found that one of the most calming ways to regain a sense of balance and peace is baking. To help you feel a little less stressed during these times, I’m going to provide a list of recipes along with how I felt both before and after each time I baked.

Feeling stressed on a Tuesday night after work, I decided I wanted to bake, so I made my signature s’mores cookies. Before I started, I felt highly irritable and overwhelmed. However, afterward, I felt a sense of calmness, and my stress and concerns faded as I focused on making the cookies turn out well. Both the process of baking and tasting the final product bring me a sense of peace that not many other things can.

Kali baking her signature s’mores cookies.

S’mores Cookies Recipe: 

• ½ cup melted butter

• ½ cup brown sugar

• ⅓ cup granulated sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

• 1 ¼ cup flower

• ½ tsp baking powder

• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix

• 1 cup chocolate chips

• Place graham crackers, Hershey’s chocolate, and large marshmallows down onto a baking sheet then place dough on top

• Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes depending on preference

The night before prom, I felt the stress creeping in again, so I decided to bake once more. This time, I took a different approach. Rather than baking completely from scratch, I wanted to see if following a box recipe would still bring me the same calming effect. Although it didn’t take as long to prepare and bake, it still brought me that same sense of peace and calmness.

Brownie Recipe: 

• Purchase Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Premium Brownie or a Brownie mix of your choice

• Follow the instructions on the box

There are many ways to relieve stress, but baking is by far my favorite. I’ve found that focusing on and following a recipe is a great way to clear your mind, and tasting your final product afterward is just an added bonus. Baking may not be everyone’s favorite activity, but it doesn’t hurt to try. Who knows? It might become a hobby you didn’t know you needed.