Baking as Connecting? reflections on Mints, Banana Chip Cookies and Cinnamon Buns

Today Bonnie called and asked me about the recipe for Mints.   I was reflecting on just how many thousands of pans of mints I have made over the years, and in every place I have lived. (ie. Here is a post on mints from the London years)

Given the intolerance both my kids had to dairy, it was a blessing to have a recipe that was allergy free.  I made it so many times that the recipe remains permanently etched on the inside of my eyeballs.  But for those looking for the recipe, here is a version from the 1989 Bow Valley Ward  "I Love Homemaking" cookbook!

Once that cookbook was in front of me, I noticed the 3 very brown bananas sitting on the counter.   And that led me to flip through the cookbook til I found my own personal favourite, "Banana Chip Cookies" (credited to the younger "Becky Johnson" version of myself!)   

For once, all the ingredients were present and accounted for, and so, Duncan and I engaged in a baking exercise.  We managed 4 trays of cookies: 2 with smaller cookies, 2 with larger.  Our only 'modification' was to use mint flavoured chips (vs. regular semi-sweet).  Great success.

Before...

....After!

After cleaning up the dishes, I found myself flipping through the cookbook, thinking about the different kinds of 'desserts' or 'maincourses' that people loved to make back in 1989.  For example, more 'popcorn balls', and jello-based deserts.  One of the recipes was for "Jello Salad" (p.31), and it included a notation saying "A simple recipe for husbands to make!"  LOL. 

And then I came across mom's cinnamon bun recipe! In some weird way, reading it was like having a visit with Arta.  I could totally hear her voice, her style of explaining things, and her humour (ie imagining the delights of death by cholesterol; or the very idea that I would be making regular batches of bread so big that I could also toss in a pan of cinnamon buns at the same time)!  

I ended up highlighting the parts that made me smile, so I can go back and re-read the recipe when I feel like I want a good visit.   

I also ended up wandering out to the family blog to see what I could find about cinnamon buns there.  More than a fair few posts out there, giving me even more great visits with Arta!   

• 2018 - "Cinnamon buns for D&D
• 2019 - "Pizza and Cinnamon buns [for D&D]
• 2016 - Whose Cinnamon buns are the best
• 2018 - "Smellerama" [Cinnamon buns for Indigenous Law Class] 
• 2018 - "Proofing Bread"
• 2018 - "Cinnamon Buns with Maraschino Cherries
• 2016 - "Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary Party"

(also got to remember a great 2022 post by Mary with a photo essay of the process from start to finish of making cinnamon buns for her birthday!)