Making the Best of Things…

Twice now I’ve tried to make my dear friends some yummy bakery items for Christmas, and both times I’ve ended up with crumbly messes. They are fine tasting crumbles, but not exactly what I had in mind for a Christmas gift. My friends are a family of four who are gluten, dairy, and egg free, so the recipes are not exactly run-of-the-mill, open box and add water types, but still I am using Flying Apron recipes which I use all the time so I do not know what the trouble is. The first time I tried to make chocolate cupcakes which rose beautifully and then collapsed in on themselves in such a miserable fashion I threw them away before they had even cooled. The second time I was making gingerbread cookies which broke apart as I took them off the cookie sheets. During this fiasco I happened to be talking to another friend who was hearing my distress through the phone and said, “Just stick them in a jar, get a spoon and deliver it as ice cream topping.” Brilliant! It wasn’t what I had intended but they do eat soy ice cream and the gingerbread did taste really good, so why not?! That saved me from trying a third recipe with ever decreasing confidence and I was sincerely happy not to waste all that food again. During this stressful time of year it is especially wise to keep an open mind and be flexible~ something I tend to forget in the Holiday craziness. Thank goodness for friends.