Rev. Drew Weseman

We are only two weeks away from the beginning of our Sabbath Baking Advent journey! I am so excited that you are going to be participating in this with me! I wanted to say a few things about how you can get ready. First of all, you may want to look in your pantry and make sure that you have all of the ingredients and materials needed. I have made a list below of a cumulative lsit of ingredients for the whole season. You will NOT need all of these for week 1. 

There are a few ingredients that may not be easily available. They are easy to substitute with other things, or you can buy them online.  I have also included a list of suggested equipment. There are some things (like a kitchen scale or cookie scoop) that I really like because it makes life easier and baking more precise, however, it is not necessary. 

Fair Trade

In this study, we are going to be talking a lot about God’s invitation to justice and peace. For me, the way we treat farm and factory workers goes a long way towards creating a world where God’s love permeates every corner. Here is a blog post which describes this in a bit more detail: 

For this study, I would encourage you to intentionally purchase ingredients that are fairly traded. This is especially important for chocolate which has some of the worst working conditions. I usually use Equal Exchange for bulk orders, but I would also suggest asking the customer service at your grocery store for their Fair Trade Certified products so they can see the demand. Whole Foods, Target, and many small organic grocery stores have a good selection of fair trade products as well. 

Social Media

As we participate in this journey together, I invite you to join our Facebook page and Instagram accounts as well as to use the hashtag: #SabbathBaking to share your cookies and reflections throughout this study. When you do that, we can search the hashtag and see everyone’s work and be reminded of the community we are creating even though we are in different places. 

Finally, if you have questions, thoughts or suggestions along the way, please send me an e-mail (sabbathbaking@gmail.com) and I would be happy to connect! 

Cumulative Ingredient List

• 7 ½ sticks of Butter (Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4,& 5)
• 3oz Cream Cheese (85g)(Week 5)
• 1c White Sugar (Weeks 1 & 3)
• 2c Light Brown Sugar (Weeks 1 & 3)
• 2c Confectioner Sugar (228g) (Weeks 2, 4, 5)
• 2 T Vanilla Extract (Weeks 1 & 3)
• 4 Eggs (Weeks 1 & 3)
• 1c Peanut Butter (250g) (Week 3)

• 7c All Purpose Flour  (Weeks 1, 2, 4, 5)
• 1 ½ tsp Baking Soda (Weeks 1 & 3)
• Kosher Salt ( Weeks 1, 3, & 4)
• 2T Corn Starch (Week 4)
• 3 ½ c Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (280g) (Week 3)

• 1 1/2c Chocolate Chips  (Week 3)
• 1/4c Cacao Nibs (or 1/2c roasted pecans) (Week 3)
• 1/4c plain M&Ms (or the FT equivalent) (Week 3)
• 1/2c Pistachios (or Almonds) (Week 2)
• 1 T Orange Blossom Water (or 1 Orange) (Week 2)
• Jam of your choice (Week 5)
• 2 Limes (Week 4)

Suggested Equipment List

• Stand Mixer 
  • This is an expensive item, but very helpful to save your arms from mixing so much. If you do not have one, a solid wooden spoon or even the scraper will work well. You can skip arm day at the gym!
• Kitchen scale
  • Of all the things in my kitchen, our scale gets the most use. It helps you to be precise in measuring ingredients making your baking consistent. Also, since you can measure ingredients directly into the bowl, there is less dishes to clean afterwards. I HIGHLY recommend getting one. If you don’t a set of measuring cups will do the same thing though.
• Parchment Paper
  • Not only does this help keep your baking sheets clean, it also helps the cookies to come off the tray. Some cookies are very soft and will stick easily. I like the kind that is easily compostable.
• Plastic Wrap
  • Many of the cookies need to rest in the refrigerator. Covering them with plastic wrap (or beeswax wraps) will prevent them from loosing too much moisture.
• Baking Sheet
  • Any size will do, so long as it fits your oven
• Rolling Pin
  • This is important to roll our the dough for week 5. If you don’t have one, a jar or something plastic with straight sides will do, just make sure to flour it well.
• Ice Cream Scoop (#16, 2oz volume)
  • This is not necessary, but I like to portion out my cookies so they bake consistently and look pretty. You can also weigh them out or just guess and use your hands.
• Scraper (or spoon)
  • Scraping down the sides of your mixing bowl while you combine ingredients is essential to make sure everything is incorporated evenly.
• Wire Cooling Rack
  • Cookies will continue to bake on a hot tray. This helps to stop that process. This is not necessary, you can also pull them off and place the parchment directly on the counter for them to cool.
• Zester
  • We will be using lime zest, so this is important. I love my microplane, but a cheese grater will work. The smaller holes the easier to avoid getting the white bitter pith of the citrus.
• Ruler
  • If you are one of those people who like to be VERY precise (You know who you are!), have it handy. No judgements here.

All of these links are not affiliate, and are just recommendations. If you are using Amazon, don’t forget to use Smile so an organization gets some money.