I've wanted a KitchenAid stand mixer for a long time, but I can never get myself to spend the money. Last month, the hand mixer I got for my wedding (15 years ago) broke and I was debating whether to a buy a new one or save some money for the real deal. I decided to save money, but in the meantime I also needed something to replace my mixer. I bought the monster of all wooden spoons.

I thought, why not spend some energy doing it the old-fashioned way, right? It has been okay so far—it has built up my upper arm muscles if nothing else. Today, I realized that my fake KitchenAid is a poor substitute for the real thing.

Two words — Molasses Cookies. The recipe makes a huge amount of cookies, but I haven't made them in a year and I just started to add ingredients to my bowl. I creamed the shortening and sugar together using my wooden spoon and it wasn't bad, but then I had to add the molasses, several other ingredients and eight cups of flour. It was so bad my daughters took turns holding the bowl still while I used both hands and all of my strength to mix it. In the end, I ended up finishing it off with my hands (which, if you ask anyone who knows me well, totally grosses me out).


The end result is deliciousness, but I couldn't lift a cup to my lips for the rest of the day. Who needs a gym? Oh wait, I probably should go to the gym to work off these cookies, or I could just make more. It's a vicious cycle.

This picture does not do them justice.