College is the best experience in the world — for the first two weeks. Your social life is thriving in a new environment and fresh start, and you are just starting to explore all of the opportunities that may become big parts of your next four years or beyond. But it is only so long before the exhilaration of newfound freedom and the lack of serious assignments wears off. There is a point when the distance between you and the people who raised you becomes more than you can bear, even if it is only 26 miles.Â
My mom somehow knows when I am missing home the most through a sort of motherly spidey-sense. When her spidey-sense tingles, she starts baking. From banana, pumpkin or classic chocolate chip cookies to other baked goods, she fills me with warm reminders of home with each taste.
Every time I visit home, or get a visit from my mom, she will not leave me without this heartfelt cooking. It always comes when I need it the most: when I feel the inevitable isolation that college brings, the flavors teleport me home, the smell filling the kitchen and cookies covering every counter possible.Â
It is important to me that everyone has a bit of homey flavor while they are away. Unlimited access to food from the dining hall cannot beat the taste of something made by the hands and heart of someone who loves you. So I shared the treats my mom made me with the lounge of my residence hall floor. To no one’s surprise, everyone needed some home-cooked goodness, and the same night, the cookies were gone.
My mom received a lot of praise for her sweets as they disappeared.
One person told me, “Tell Mama Linda she ate!”
Not only was the nostalgic taste healing a tiny piece of homesickness in more than just me, but the treats brought us together as a floor community. This moment became more than just enjoying the cookies; it became a time that we were able to spend together while the cookies disappeared. This only motivated my mom to pour her heart into more treats. Two more cookie-filled containers were sent my way the next weekend, filling the whole floor with a little taste of home.Â
By bringing home to me, my mom also brought home to many people around me, nurturing the creation of a family, simply with cookies. My mom’s delicious presents made me realize that it does not take grand gestures to make someone feel less homesick: rather, sometimes all it takes is the scent and flavor of something familiar and the comfort of sharing it with someone else. These gestures do not only have to take the form of cookies, but can be anything that reminds you of home, from scents to traditions, that you share with your newfound family.
At this point, my mother is not only someone who brightens my day, but someone who has made the days of a whole floor of people. People who look forward to seeing a new full container arrive, knowing that she spent time to bring us a few bites of bliss that we can enjoy together.
For anyone who needs a taste of home:
Mama Linda’s Snickerdoodle Cookies (courtesy of https://lilluna.com/snickerdoodles/)
Snickerdoodle Dough
- â…” cup of all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- â…“ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, mix flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer, cream together butter (softened) and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and blend well.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well.
- In a small bowl, combine â…“ cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon.
- Scoop out dough and roll it into a ball. Roll each ball into cinnamon sugar mix twice.
- Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let sit on cookie sheet for a few additional minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.
- Enjoy!