Those Fine Motor Skills

I tackled a new adventure yesterday. You might know that I took up cooking awhile ago and I expanded and tried more things to help with my occupational therapy as I recovered.

Yesterday I tried my hand at baking cookies, something I had never really done before. I found a recipe that looked kind of interesting: It was a peanut butter cookie recipe with a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup mini in the middle. Oh Yeah!

We picked up everything we needed but I could only get a party pack of peanut butter cups. What ever will I do with all those extras?

It’s been three years since I had my stroke and I’ve discovered that some things are probably not going to come back. I’ve decided that I could either get depressed and mad about it or try to adapt and have some fun with it. I voted for fun. We’ve discovered that me and fine motor skills no longer belong in the same sentence.

While mixing up the ingredients I mentioned to Priscilla, “How come your mixer doesn’t have a ‘Slow’ setting on it?” She instructed me that it did, you just have to give it a light, one position click. Yeah, fine motor skills. That’s when I told her I might have made a little bit of a mess but I give the kitchen a thorough cleaning every Monday. This week could be fun.

After the peanut butter cookie part cooked I had to put 40 little mini peanut butter cups in the cookie. That’s where I asked for some help. It has to be done quickly and quickly is not my speed anymore.

Once we waited a couple of minutes for cooling it was time to take them out of the mini muffin tins I cooked them in. I asked Priscilla if she wanted me to do that part but she said she had to do it very gently. From the kitchen I heard, “How do you think those fine motor skills would do?” Yeah, not so much.

I’m happy to say that we ended up with 39 delicious cookies. You heard right — 39. While rolling the cookie dough into a ball I happened to drop one and you-know-who was right there. He’ll probably tell you about it Wednesday. That left an unclaimed peanut butter cup that I was happy to help find a home for.

The toughest part was staying out of them. We’re going to my daughter’s apartment for dinner tonight and I want them to be dessert. I can see how difficult it is to live with me hovering around the cookie dish. I don’t know how my wife has put up with me.

You can find the recipe at foodfanatic.com. Just click here.