Cookies and Contentment (GF)

By , November 28, 2024

When psychologists began studying happiness in the 1980’s and 1990’s, they gave their research subjects pagers, and whenever they went off, they were to jot down how happy they were on a scale of one to ten and what had been going on to make them feel that way. After collecting thousands of responses, they found that pretty much everyone wrote down a seven regardless of what they were doing – grocery shopping, attending their kid’s soccer game. When bad things happened – someone was sick or going through a divorce – the rating would dip to between two and five but eventually pop back up to seven. When good things happened – a new job, a vacation – the rating would get a boost but eventually settle back down to a seven.
 
This constant seven most of us live at, toys with us. We think, if I could have this or do that, I would get to a ten and I’d stay there. We chase the impossible to have, all time ten. Psychologists call this the ‘hedonic treadmill’ because we are running after something only to end up in the same place.
 
When we practice contentment, accepting where we are right now, understanding that it will change, we will find joy. This invites us to enjoy the journey, to live in and appreciate the moment.  
 
So how do we cultivate contentment.
 
Gratitude – Gratitude can train our brains to be more positive in the present
Relationships – One of the few external factors that changes contentment levels, according to social research, is our relationships. When we’re in constant pursuit, it’s easy to give our time, energy and attention to the chase instead of our friends and family. Shifting our focus to the people in our lives helps us cultivate contentment.
Purpose – We can cultivate contentment by living a purposeful life – one that reflects our values, allows us to use our skills and contribute in some way*.
 
To help you along the way, here is a lovely healthy gluten free version of shortbread. It has almond, coconut flour and egg making it higher protein than the non-gluten version which is just flour, sugar and butter. It is light and rich as noted by multiple taste testers.

Yield: 10-30 cookies

Ingredients

  • 100g corn flour (masa not corn starch)
  • 100g rice flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 100g coconut flour
  • 100g almond meal
  • 100g icing sugar
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 250g cold butter, cut into cubes
  • 2 egg yolks

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 325F
  • Combine the flours, almond meal, icing sugar and salt. Add the butter and rub with your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
  • Add the egg yolk and knead again with your hands until you have a smooth dough. Form into a ball. Dust a clean surface with rice flour and roll out the dough until 5mm thick.
  • Use a cookie cutter to cut out biscuits in whatever shape you prefer. Place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
  • Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden.
  • Let cool on the tray for 10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack

*(Taken from Living the Sutra’s)