Panic, Joy and Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

In my house I currently have a box filled with over 28 pounds of different kinds of chocolate chips, wafers and bars, my fridge has 4 dozen eggs and as of this moment there are only 12 pounds of butter in my freezer. I am down to my last 10-pound sack of all-purpose flour, and on my desk you can find 3 different lists of things I’d best not forget, written in various stages of joy and panic.

Even my husband Mark is helping test recipes, and as he’s never baked before (see photo above), it’s a great way to find out if my recipes are clear.

I say “joy and panic” as that’s my current state as I careen towards the deadline for my Secret Life of Chocolate Chip Cookies cookbook manuscript. Joy, because as I frequently remind myself as I wash another sink of dishes, I am writing a book about cookies and there is no reason on this earth that I should complain ever. Oh, and panic, because OMG DO YOU REALIZE HOW SOON NOVEMBER FOURTH IS?

All of which is to say, I am focusing on this cookbook project and couldn’t be happier that it is allowing me to redirect my underlying anxiety about the day after my manuscript is due, which is another reason I’m writing to you today. I feel now, more than ever that I need you all. We need to hold hands, remind ourselves to never look at the polls (or at the very least to understand the current state of polling), to not watch too many videos of Trump’s rallies because it’s not going to help you in any fashion and definitely could hurt you.

I spoke to both my classes today about the importance of voting and how much their vote counts, just like Joyce Vance and I discussed on a recent podcast.

The deadline in NJ for registering to vote is the 15th, so I encouraged my students to check they were registered to vote and to get themselves an absentee ballot if need be.

There’s lots we can still do to make a difference, including:

Understand there is a tremendous amount of mis- and disinformation. Newsguard tracks them, and while you need a subscription to have access to many of their safeguarding tools and insights, their most recent report on myths related to the two campaigns is available for reading. And quite a discouraging—if important—read.

Check your own registration on vote.org.

Educate yourself about down-ballot candidates before you walk into the polling booth. The League of Women Voters has a helpful resource.

And, of course, eat cookies and take walks in the fresh air.

Here’s an older recipe that I think tastes great this time of year. And ASAP I will back with new recipes for you. Thank you all for your patience.

Need some further distraction? Maybe we could start the kind of political discussion America needs right now….Who was the cutest American president when they were young? Yes, that’s an actual website and I look forward to seeing your Top 5 faves in the comments below.

You might also enjoy the hottest heads of state when they were grown ups page. Funny is good.

image and caption from hotheadsofstate.com

This substack is a reader-supported publication. I cannot do it without you. If you’re able, paying for a subscription helps keep the snickers doodles and helps pay for the groceries necessary for recipe-testing and recipe development. Also, it supports me—a freelance writer. The pay scale for journalists and writers has not kept up with the cost of living. That’s why having a substack newsletter has become such a terrific venue for so many writers. Best of all, it puts mein touch with my readers like never before. Thank you.

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