#not a baking blog

[scientistswishingwell]

Thoughts about lichens, extraterrestrial fertilization, and my “leftovers” cookies.

Leftovers Cookies, without the leftovers. Originally made because I had leftover cookie batter from two types of cookies. Now I do it on purpose. Tastes like not being able to decide between cookies and brownies and getting both.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 c. flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 c. butter

3/4 c. granulated sugar

3/4 c. packed dark brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 cups chocolate chips (I find I like to do 1 c. Mini and 1 c. Regular or chocolate chunks but I’m not gonna tell you what to do)

1/2 c. Dutch process cocoa.

Instructions

Mix all the ingredients except the cocoa. Split the dough in half and refrigerate one half. Add the cocoa to the remaining half. Refrigerate the cocoa half. Sorry, but the refrigeration is important. No slacking here. You can make the dough and refrigerate overnight, or make it in the afternoon and have fresh cookies after dinner. But you do gotta wait.

Once the cookie dough has cooled enough to be firm, preheat the oven to 375F. take some of each type of dough and mush them together a little bit into a ball about 1 inch in diameter. Don’t totally mix them. Place on a baking sheet with parchment or some other nonstick element. Bake for 9-11 minutes, depending on how gooey or crispy you like.

If you’re feeling really fancy, dust them with any of the following: coarse ground sea salt, flaked finishing salt, cocoa powder, coarse sugar for sprinkling, etc. If you are someone who likes nuts in your cookies, first of all, why, and second of all, you can use 1 cup of chopped nuts.

Okay, onto my baking thoughts. Hear me out.

Extraterrestrial fertilization, the idea that life originated in some other place in the universe, and was carried to earth by some kind of comet or something, is a really fun idea, but my least favorite theory for a few basic reasons. One, it seems so incredibly unlikely. And two, it really just passes the buck to another planet. How did they get life to pass on to us? It has to have originate somewhere.

That being said, my latest obsession with lichens led me to this hypothesis. It’s a little gushier than the average hypothesis, but I’m hoping you forgive a girl for putting poetry in her science now and then.

Bear with me, and imagine this:

A lichenous body is transported from unfathomable distances away via a meteor, comet, or a bit of exploded planet. It survives this voyage by being nice and cozy within its intergalactic shuttle, just enough so that the following things occur:

1. The organism is *mostly* but not entirely protected by the rocky body it is carried on

2. Since no self-respecting organism would attempt to do anything but keep the metaphorical lights on in this situation, the lichenous body goes into hibernation. This will have to involve an abrupt stop of cellular function, made possible by the freezing vacuum of space, for most of the critter, but enough time for a portion of the organism to create endospores. The endospores function as essentially a little package of nucleic genetic information wrapped up in as much of a bunker as the cell can build before it dies. Best case, the cell body remains intact, making an extra layer of protection for our little nucleic acid package.

2.a. The endospores formed by the cells are bare-bones. Basically, they ONLY have enough information to keep the lights on.

3. The rocky body, by some miracle, crashes into earth. It is solid enough so that it does not burn up entirely on entry, but small enough that it does break up a bit, freeing our extraterrestrial samples. Best case, it lands in the ocean, or some other deep body of water, so that it can cool down a bit.

4. The endospores “hatch” upon reaching a vaguely habitable environment. The endospores develop into bare-bones cells. They no longer know how to cooperate with another organism, but if they could be, they would be grateful for the sacrifice of their interstellar crewmate. Possessing essentially only nucleic acids (probably ssRNA or a precursor), all these cells know is Eat Hot Chip and Replicate.

5. A couple million years later, we have a bunch of cells that have figured out how to do things other than replicate. They have adapted to many environments and now want to start doing cool shit but don’t know how yet. One of the cells engulfs a smaller cells and saves it for later, in a membrane pocket. The big cell forgets about the tiny cell, and the tiny cell continues doing its own thing. The tiny cell realizes this is kind of cool, being protected, and starts sharing with the big cell. The big cell appreciates this, and decides not to eat the little cell. It even gives the little cell some extra generic information, just to hold on to. An ancient, evolutionary memory is unlocked of cooperation for the sake of not just surviving, but thriving.

6. The world’s first eukaryotic cell replicates. Mitochondria and chloroplasts are born, and those without them figure out other ways to cooperate to build micro communities. Micro communities become organisms, or blobs of goo, or microbial mats, or gardens. The cells all remember what they used to be before they got here.

[realpeachgirl]

Erm… I want this in my future apartment (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) .ᐟ.ᐟ

[bunnyb33r]

🧁🍦

[cosmicinkstudios]

⭐️ Kirby’s Sweet Treats! (Remastered sticker sheet) 🍓⭐️

[faeriesclub]

baking season!🫶🏻

[justalittlecutiepie]

Day 21 of ageretober! .˚⊹.🎃₊˚𖦹⋆

Baking𐙚 ˚🥧 ⋆｡˚ ᡣ𐭩

🥧 - 🎃 - 🥧 |🎃 - 🥧 - 🎃 |🥧 - 🎃 - 🥧

prompt by @small-spade !

Dni banner by 🥧 ♡☆°~

[eat-love-eat]

Blueberry Croissant French Toast Bake

[seasonalbakery]

autumnal backdrop of leaves and cool breeze is implied

[widdle-sweetpea]

Look how caaaayute!!!

[z-tomaz]

the absolute audacity of paul saying things are too sweet. paul it is caramel week. you know, caramel, famously made of sugar. what do you mean it's TOO SWEET you did this to yourself

[autumncozy]

By gali_foodphoto

[studymoons]

life lately is filled with lots of studying via practice questions and breaks filled with books and crafts and baking! i currently have a pleasant board exam study schedule that consists of a nice slow morning with a matcha latte and some reading, completing 160 practice questions, then relaxing the rest of the evening with the usual hobbies like reading, crocheting and knitting, cross-stitching, etc. recently i’ve read the idiot by elif batuman, berlin by bea setton, and now i’m reading either/or (sequel to the idiot) by myself and the thursday murder club by richard osman with my boyfriend. overall having a much better time studying for step 2 than for step 1!

i’m baking nonstop but the cake pictured is a vegan cardamom cocoa with star design inspired by earlygirl__ on twitter

my etsy

[nipuni]

Yesterday's photos! and some from today 😊 Another day at the christmas markets, folk band at the pub, some walking around parks aaand then Nicolas baked some bread and I decorated the garden and veranda with more lights 🎄

[reunitedinterlude]

get booped

[paopu-kiddo]

Winnie the pooh agere moodboard!!

[justalittlecutiepie]

.𖥔 ݁ ˖⋆ ˚❆˚˖𓍢ִ໋ A very My Little Pony Christmas . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

Day 3: Pinkie Pie ᡣ𐭩.⋅��ֶֶֶֶֶָָָָָָ֢֢֢֢֢֢ ʚ🧁ɞ ִֶָ⋅.ᡣ𐭩

🧁 | 🧁 | 🧁

🧁 | 🧁 | 🧁

🧁 | 🧁 | 🧁

₊˚｡⋆❆ dni: nsfw, meanies, ed, sh, anti agere, anti petre etc ❆⋆｡˚₊