Well well well… After a (personal) record-breaking 78 posts in 2024, I’ve taken a whole week to post in 2025! But fear not, I aim to keep posting just as much in this new year.

My goal for last year was to post 52 times (once a week), which I managed to surpass considerably. And 78 blog posts was not the only personal goal I surpassed in 2024 – I read 36 books for my 24-book goal, and ran 550 miles for my 530 mile goal. A banner year for hobbies, truly! I don’t say this all to gloat – these are genuinely the first times I’ve achieved yearly goals… I think ever.

And I think that part of that success came from the fact that I did not set them on January 1st, 2024! I believe it was in June that I came up with the idea to aim for 52 blog posts, after I realized that I was just shy of a post per week. Then… I was able to blow that goal out of the water with a renewed mid-year focus! I realized after training for a half marathon that I was in reach of running the most miles in a year since 2018 – so I set a goal of 530 miles to keep me running at a decent rate without the half-marathon goal.

My house in has gone through a major remodel in the past 3 months, and I feel like I live in a brand-new space. On top of having a brand new bathroom, a finished laundry room, and a beautifully re-finished basement, my mom and I re-arranged and spruced up our living room. (With a single $120 purchase, might I add!) And as we were doing this re-arranging and re-modelling, I kept saying how much I like living in a space for a while before making any big decorating decisions. You need to see what the space feels like, see what you end up using it for, and you inevitably find out some need that you might not have predicted. (ie… obtaining a basil plant and needing a place to put it that isn’t the kitchen table!)

And I think that attitude is very applicable to new years as well! It’s only January! I’m hardly over Christmas yet – we just finished all the cookies last week. Can we just like, chill for a sec? I want to take stock of what I even want my goals to be! Let me do the things I like to do – new and old – and see where the year takes me. For instance, I didn’t even have a bike at the start of 2024, and now it’s one of my favorite activities. I set a goal that I didn’t hit, but will likely set another one for 2025, sometime later in the year. Why must we pretend like January is the only time to set goals? I don’t want to jump in to any crazy goals that I set out of a delusional belief that in 2025 I am going to be a person that I have simply never been before!

I spent today organizing my pantry – throwing away expired foods, consolidating duplicates, sorting the shelves, and taking stock of everything that’s in it. I even made a list of all the niche ingredients I have, so that I can find recipes to use them all. January should be for tasks like organizing pantries!! Taking stock of 2024, cleaning things out to make room for 2025. Getting everything straightened up and ready to go. Making sure you use all the ingredients you bought in 2024.

Similarly, I watched the Golden Globes on Sunday, and realized how many movies from 2024 I somehow missed, whether because they released late enough in the year, or I just didn’t find the time. So I had to make a list of movies from 2024 to catch up on. My point here is: there’s a lot to take stock of in January. Sure, it’s a new year, but the old year was just last week. Let’s not get too hasty. I still have movies to watch and ingredients to use up.

Now, all of this being said, what I do like to do at the end of the year is start thinking of things I’d like to try. No crazy goals. Just things to try once or twice, or try incorporating into your routine. No pressure, low stakes. Last year, I wanted to try posting here regularly. It turned into 78 blog posts! Last year, I wanted to try getting back into a consistent running routine. It worked!

So, in that vein, I have been trying to think of some new things to work on for the blog this year, that aren’t tied to numbers.

Spice up my photos! My photos have gotten leagues better than they once were, but I find them feeling a bit stale now. Now that my living room/dining table isn’t in the middle of a construction zone, I’m going to try and find some more exciting props and work on my staging. You’ll still be seeing a lot of my white table, but I hope incorporating props and trying to push myself out of my box will help improve them.
Try to make some videos! I’ve attempted this a few times over the years, but it’s harder for me to be consistent with filming versus photographing baking. I’ve always found filming the process of baking difficult – I don’t want a camera in the way while I’m in the kitchen or at the stove! But these are excuses! I like watching baking videos, so I want to try and find a way I can make them too! I think it will push me creatively, just like trying to improve my photography will. Nothing fosters creativity like constraints, right?
Try some longer form writing! My first two ideas are about pushing my visual sensibilities, I guess I should push my writing too! Molly has told me she wants me to write a “series of essays” about my time in LA. (Somehow she hasn’t heard me complain about it enough!) And I’ve written nearly 9000 words and have ideas for 8 or 9 essays. Instead of just sending these to my family… why not post them here (paired with thematic recipes), where my family will read anyways? Maybe I’ll branch out and start writing book reviews, and lean into the theme of the blog more.
Maybe update the site a bit? I’m less sure about this one. I don’t want to mess with the site too much – I like it a lot, and Molly put a ton of work into it. However… logging in and seeing my 14 year old self smiling in the corner does feel a little outdated. And the bio says I still live in LA. Old news!
Tell more people about the blog! Speaking of branding… my brother got me sticker sheets for Christmas – I want to print some The Batter Thickens stickers and putting them on the boxes I bought for my baked goods. Whether they go to the office or elsewhere, I figure it can’t hurt to boost “visibility” for the blog. I’ve put work into it… may as well make sure more people see it! This is a purposefully vague idea on this list… I’ll keep working on it.

Now… I realize this may sound a lot like setting goals. But, I don’t think so. They’re ideas for what to work on. If I try to do one and it fizzles out before I hit my stride, then I won’t feel like I failed a “make 10 videos!” goal. If any of them turn into something I really enjoy, then maybe I’ll set a goal!

Anyways… I’ve yammered on for a while now. This Speculoos Milk Bar Pie is verrrry good. It was part of that January urge to use up ingredients and clean out the pantry. We had a whole package of speculoos cookies after Christmas, and instead of making cookie plates until February, I figured I’d use them to make a crust. And I have to say… it is a travesty that I have not thought to add cinnamon to Milk Bar Pie before. It feels like an inevitable match. It could not be more perfect. Like the gooey filling of a cinnamon roll turned into a pie. With a crunchy speculoos crust. Why would I make Milk Bar Pie without cinnamon every again?

Speculoos Milk Bar Pie

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Author: Audrey
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Total Time: 0 hours

Description

Perfect if you have some leftover Spekulatius cookies from the holidays

Ingredients

For the Spekulatius Crust:

7oz package spekulatius (speculoos) or biscoff cookies
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup oats
¼ teaspoon salt

For the Filling:

¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
6 ½ tablespoons heavy whipping cream
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar, for dusting

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Instructions

In a food processor, grind cookies until crumbly. Then in a bowl, mix the cookie crumbs with the rest of the ingredients until it comes together in clumps.
Press crust mixture into a pie dish and make sure it covers the bottom and up the sides.
Place pie dish with crust on rimmed baking sheet.
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350° F.
Make the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or you can whisk vigorously by hand), combine both sugars, milk powder, cinnamon, spices, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add melted butter and whisk until blended. Add cream, then egg yolks and vanilla, and whisk until well combined and mixture is paler in color. Due to the cinnamon, it won’t get as pale as Milk Bar Pie usually does.
Pour filling into crust. Bake pie at 350° F for 20 minutes (filling may begin to bubble). Reduce oven temperature to 325° F. Continue to bake pie until filling is brown in spots and set around edges but center still moves slightly when pie dish is gently shaken, about 15 to 20 minutes longer. Cool pie 2 hours in pie dish on rack. Chill uncovered overnight.
Sift powdered sugar lightly over top of pie. Cut pie into wedges and serve cold.