Chewy Cardamom Coconut Cookies

Life is a big word...Life is a REALLY big word. Quite honestly, I'm surprised we can even sum up our existences into just one small, meager 4 letter word. This one syllable encompasses so much emotion and so many painful or indescribable experiences. It's almost as if simplifying it, makes everything we go through just more digestible. But isn't it the effervescent moments that catch us off guard, knock the breath out of our lungs or the ones that just simply don't make any sense...sort of the point of it all? So often we place our life's value in things that we can control. Like our social status, or titles and rankings. Achievements and capabilities. But, from my perspective, I would say this belittles the meaning itself to a reachable, confined and common worth.

Think about it. If the world itself, was being pushed and pulled simply by the things that are within our control, wouldn't it be awfully grim? This can be taken many different ways but I'm speaking in the most broad way possible. If we could be witness to our own life like an admirer in a gallery full of memorabilia...Walking through halls and halls of framed, moving moments, would we want to see perfectly aligned "by the book" compositions over and over again? Taking every step knowing exactly what's going to happen next...because in the end, it all follows the same, predictable algorithm? Halfway through our imaginations would've fizzled out from a vibrant, excited and lush palette to a dim, lifeless grey. Our mind wouldn't even want to keep going because it would already know what awaits. Aware of every single moment before it even witnesses it. Excitement itself just wouldn't exist.

Granted, witnessing the raw, painful moments once again, would hurt. Being able to see from the outside, in. Those cold, rainy nights that left your body empty, your mind racing and your heart burning for something you just couldn't grasp...But, at the same time. Where would those moments of healing that came soon after be without that pain? I'm talking about those fleeting thrills that felt like pure, tangible light beaming from deep down within. They never would've come about if it wasn't for your unearthed, gritty will to survive that pushed you past those bitter nights and propelled you into the light. In a way, I think we can all look back to some of the darkest moments in our life and after having learned some and grown some...be proud that we made it this far.

So after walking through these not-so-hollow halls of unexpected pain, anger, joy, relief and maybe a little bit of everything. We would bare witness to an unending gallery full of colourful stories with streaks of saddened blues, blissful greens, harmonious yellows, rich violets and even the occasional splashes of grey. Only to come to the end of it simply wanting more. Wondering what else lies ahead?...Why though? Why would we not want to know what comes next? Well, I like to think it's because our innate curious and bright eyed nature is what drives us to look past what makes sense and on to things that move us forward fearlessly.

More often than not, it's in the quiet moments when your mind drifts off into a place far back within your memories, it finds these framed stories in your daydreams. They play like an old movie come to life. As you think of them again, you feel a whirlwind of colour that is far from predictable or grey. Instead, those memories leave you yearning to make new experiences. Full of new feelings and they inspire you to pick yourself back up and fall forward into yet another untrodden path of this incredibly un-simple thing called life...

Well, now that we've had the chance to get REAL philosophical, let's get into the recipe to help you zone out into those deep thoughts this week!

Chewy Cardamom Coconut Cookies

• 1/2 cup Slightly cold butter

• 1 cup Flour

• 1 cup Sugar

• 2 tsp Vanilla

• 2 tsp Coconut Extract

• Handful of coconut shavings

• 6-8 pods of Cardamom (depending on how aromatic you like it)

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 F

2. Cut up the butter into chunks and toss in a bowl.

3. Add in the flour and sugar and set aside for a second.

4. Grind your cardamom in a mortar and pestle (This will allow you to manually pick out the shells and also bring out the aroma)

5. Then toss in your cardamom and coconut shavings to the mixture.

6. Add in the vanilla and coconut extract to the mix.

7. With your hand, start combining everything to bring it into one giant smooth ball.

8. Then on a baking sheet laid with parchment paper, start breaking your dough into smaller balls and lay them on the sheet, leaving a bit of space in between them to expand.

9. Bake at 350 F for about 10-15 minutes (to keep them doughy)

10. Then when you take them out and let them cool just a bit but not fully, you can place a fork over top of them for the lined pattern or leave them as is!

11. Let them cool fully and then cozy up with a plate of cookies and a cup of tea! They're also great the after being refrigerated!

"Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods" -C.S Lewis