My Hatred of Stats

I don’t like to use the word hate on this blog. Not too often anyway. Saying you ‘dislike’ something is very different to saying you ‘hate’ something.

‘Hate’ connotes the idea that you despise something so much that even seeing it causes the fight part of the BAS to activate tenfold. That’s Behavioural Approach System to you my dear non-psychology studying readers 😉

Hating something means that the intensity of your negative feelings towards a certain person/place or thing is bordering on ridiculous.

‘Disliking’ something is accepting that you are not neutral or indifferent to a certain thing, rather would appreciate not being around it, if it can be helped. See? Infinitely, a more graceful and polite way of hat.. ‘disliking’ something. Classy.

But today, all my class has just been thrown out the damn window. I want to hate. I want to hate with such a passion that a red filter covers my eyes just looking at… it.

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I just need to rant and rave and scream about something (virtually of course, my throat is recovering from a cold :P) to you guys and express my ‘intense dislike bordering on insane rage’ against something.

Statistics. WHY? WHAT EVEN ARE YOU?

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I say I hate maths. Remember when I SO gleefully told you I dropped all maths in my year 12 (still stands to be the best decision ever made since calculus is virtually useless in real life!)

Anyway though, my brother does pure maths and he says stats is not even part of maths. IT IS ITS OWN DIFFICULT LITTLE FIELD OF STUDY!

You know what stats is akin to? It is the same as a rebellious little snotty teenage boy. Actually let’s not be sexist here. It is the same as a little snotty teenager that decided it didn’t fit in with its ‘other maths brothers and sisters’, or in the maths community in general.

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Now, see, no one likes the maths community. This dimension of shapes, swirls and calculus prides itself on being the most hated subject in schools by little children everywhere. They have received many golden trophies with ‘Most Hated Subject Of All Time’ and ‘Most dropped subject 5000 BC – AD 2014′ – consecutive winner.

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It’s like Stats decided to rival the maths community, and build up its own rules, its own ideas, and its own concepts to ruin the lives of those pursuing tertiary education in psychology and many other fields no doubt. Not to ‘follow the trend’ but make life MUCH more difficult for any aspiring child/adolescent/adult.

You want to know how successful Stats has been? I have known people who have stopped studying psychology due to the amount of insane-to-learn statistics involved in it. People have advised me to ‘scrape by and pass stats with 50% and do well in everything else to make up for it’.

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… stats you evil EVIL little s-

No Uru control yourself. Keep this blog PG rated remember? 😉

Ok rant over. If you have just been scrolling trying to rid yourself of my screechy online presence, no worries, its gone! But I really needed to let it out and may have used this blog as a little bit of a supportive punching bag – thanks for understanding!

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Mais au meme temps, you have to agree that I did provide you with giant, cookie-loving food porn, I certainly did not leave you hanging in any way! 😀

As you can probably tell by my photos, these cookies are HUGE. One cookie is the size of palm. JOKES, I joke, they are MUCH bigger!

And see, I wasn’t even planning to have a cookie-come-galette, I promise you! The big blue blob in the middle was meant to be a surprise when you break the cookie in two! My problem? One… I followed this recipe to a T (it was the first chocolate chip recipe I ever made, so I thought it deserved to be featured on blog!) and it air-rated the butter and sugar.

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Totally should have just browned the butter so it wouldn’t spread as much.

Also, my second mistake was getting lazy and putting in a bit of extra self-raising flour because we ran out of plain flour, and I was still in my PJs and couldn’t be bothered to change to go to the corner store which is literally two seconds drive, 5 minutes walk.

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Yes, I represent my generation quite perfectly 😛

Now, last time I showed you some amazing Biglolly candy, it was in these gorgeous nostalgic cupcakes. Now, let me first introduce you to the Blue Marshmallow Puffs part of the Splash Candy range available. Honestly, these were a little bit over-chewy for me, and I didn’t really get into the sugar coating on the outside which made them a little too sweet.

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However, it had a delicious bubblegum-esque flavour and left an addictive aftertaste!

They were also, as you can tell, gorgeous to bake with 😀 – Inside the cookie or out! (look how they match my beautiful nails :P)

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Secondly, also from the same Splash Candy range, I jam packed the cookie dough not with chocolate chips, but with Lavender Choc Drops. Not only were these a stunning colour, but they tasted similar to smarties, though their colour didn’t run 😀

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Addictive little buggers, I was happily eating these by the handful while hoping I had put enough into my giant cookies!

Now I think you are beyond over my voice (I have a tendency to go overboard, sans doute, you know that :P) – Enjoy mes cheris some warm, buttery, giant cookies with a big glass of milk and watch as the soft, chewy crumb and slightly crunchy golden exterior sweep you away on a cookie holiday! 🙂

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Candy Explosion Cookies

Printable Recipe

Adapted Barely From: Exclusively Food

Ingredients:

  • 125g butter, softened
  • 110g caster sugar
  • 90g brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
  • 1 large egg (59g minimum)
  • 100g self-raising flour (SRF)
  • 150g plain flour
  • 1 packet Lavender Choc Drops (contains 1 cups’ worth)
  • 1 packet Blue Marshmallow Puffs

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees (160 degrees if fan forced). Line 2 large baking trays with baking paper.
  2. Use an electric beater to beat butter, sugars and vanilla till fluffy and light
  3. Scrape down the side of the bowl and beat in the egg till a creamy mixture
  4. Stir in the plain flour and SRF and use a wooden spoon to stir till well combined, with a few traces of flour.
  5. Add in the choc drops and stir till incorporated in,
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  6. Take a solid tbs and a 1/2 into your palm and flatten. Place a marshmallow on top.
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  7. Get a similar amount of dough, flatten and then place on top of the marshmallow. Join its edges to the dough underneath the marshmallow till securely in the middle then place on the tray (make sure to leave at least 5-7cm between cookie circumferences because these babies spread!)
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  8. Bake for 15-18 minutes or till golden around the edges. The marshmallow will be very sticky in the middle so eat while hot!
  9. If you are boring and waiting for them to cool, let rest without the tray on a wire rack till at room temperature. Store in an airtight container if you hold a semblance of self-control.

Notes:

  • You can use my special chocolate chip cookie recipe, or any of your own if you want, the candy explosion is the only unique part 😛
  • To avoid spread even more, you can  refrigerate the dough for an hour or two, or even overnight prior to baking
  • If not only air-rating, or using techniques to avoid spread, remember to use a fork or your palm to slightly flatten the cookies before baking
  • Longer baking time means crunchier cookies

Till next time 😀

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Disclaimer: Go Bake Yourself received these products courtesy of Biglolly and Savage PR. All thoughts and opinions expressed however are her own and honest.

87 Comments

  4. Kim Bultman says:

    Statistically speaking, your ratio of ‘rant’ to marvelously delectable color-coordinated cookie photos was so effective, it made me start liking math… a little… but I will always love cookies more. 😉

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  8. Jenny @ BAKE says:

    I remember a few choice classes at Uni that would have had me writing very similar posts to this if I had been blogging at the time! I think you’ve got a winner with these cookies, and junk food treats is a definite upside of bad classes!

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  10. I Wilkerson says:

    Laughing at the resemblance to my middle daughter taking stats. Her most complained about class. She loves math and even skipped ahead a year be able to take extra calculus (and she would totally agrees with you that stats is not real math)

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  11. eliotthecat says:

    OK, I have to confess that I got out of college and grad school without ever having to endure stats. I would have needed more than these cookies to have made it through. Good luck!

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  13. Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says:

    My sister-in-law is a statistician for the naplan thingo. I think it’s a completely nutty job. Worse than an accountant I think. 🙂

    I would need these cookies too. You will get through stats. Everyone does. It’s what teaches young people to swear.

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  14. rika@vm says:

    Me either I tend not to use the term, ‘hate’ in my conversations, notes, or whatsoever. Math used to be my favorite subject, but then I hated it when I started high school. I hope you’re feeling better, cold is the worst thing to deal with especially if I’m traveling, I go cray cray. I ❤ giant cookies, they are so delicate, soft, and just yummy to eat right away! I wanna try making giant cookies like yours…ahhhhhh, drools.

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  15. Hannah (BitterSweet) says:

    Ugh, math is the worst! I feel you pain… I could never pass a class on statistics, physics, or anything like that. Thank goodness I can get my “applied mathematics” requirement out of the way by taking a class on nutrition this coming semester. Perfect way to get around actually having to use math, or so I hope. 😉

    These cookies, on the other hand, look like a ton of fun. Love those wild colors!

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  19. kalamitykelli says:

    The cookies look fantastic – I want to make a recommendation for you as far as statistics go: It’s not really hard, your instructor is merely making it difficult. There’s a small little book our professor had us purchase How to Lie with Statistics (by Darrell Huff I think). You can get it on Kindle or in paperback. Really, it’s a great book and shows you exactly how to make your statistics say anything you want…………..That little book has held me in good stead my entire adult life. It also makes me wary when someone says, “well, statistics show……” because I know how they did it! 🙂

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  20. Vicki Bensinger says:

    Wow arent’ these cookies fun and I’m sure delicious! I was never that great at math and although I loved psyc I found myself analyzing everything about myself, family and friends. I was glad to be done with that course. Of course I’ve been done with college long before you were born and believe it or not I enjoy tackling math problems now and read lots of psyc articles. Go figure!

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  23. girl in a food frenzy says:

    Though I don’t get Maths, I do get stats! There’s nothing good about the little thumbs down, but I’m absolutely certain that you are always a thumbs up kinda gal! As for a thumbs up, I must get me choc lavendar chips stat! Sounds like a delicious combo of tasty things to enjoy 🙂

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  27. shenANNAgans says:

    Oh I hear you CCU… I still resort to counting with my fingers, thats how good at Maths I am. LOL! I will say tho, your rant made me giggle, sometimes a good rant like this really makes us feel better. 🙂
    Digging the funky cookies tho, I’ve been looking for fun ways to complete a blue themed event I am helping organise, reckon these little beauties will feature. 🙂

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  29. Courtney says:

    I am NOT a fan of Stats either. And I have never used my knowledge of it ever. Though I think I know a couple of little kids who’d enjoy knowledge of this fun recipe!

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  30. Zoe (@bake4happykids) says:

    I’m sorry to say that I actually like Maths!!! You know that the kind of Maths that calculate one cookie + one tummy = one smile and 3 cookies x one tummy = 3 smiles… LOL!

    Hey… don’t laugh! I’m a Maths genius, you know!!!

    Zoe
    PS I just realise that my previous comments in your blog has not been published… Geez! Lucky I have realised the problem and managed to resolve it 😀

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  34. Curry and Comfort says:

    In college, my hatred of my Statistics class is what got me to change my major to International Studies. So I totally feel your pain. Funny thing is one of my best friends is a Phd in Statistics and she teaches it at the University in Sri Lanka. I wish I had 1/3 of her brain cells to pass my class. I would pass eating those cookies of yours… with full marks. 🙂

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    • Choc Chip Uru says:

      Haha I am just hoping my cookies are my salvation and help me pass 😛
      Your friend sounds so smart! But you are equally as soon, just your brain is wired differently 😀

      Cheers
      Choc Chip Uru

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  37. My Kitchen Stories says:

    Oh dear you have got your self in a tangle. I hate maths too its not fun unlike those colourful giant cookies I could stand one of those

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  41. mjskit says:

    Oh Uru – I wish I were there to help you with your stats because I love stats and have even taught it before. Hang in there girl! There cookies are crazy!!!! What are the odds of finding a polish that matches the color of your cookies. 🙂

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  44. Liz says:

    Those are some BIG marshamallow drops! We’d love any sort of candy explosion of the cookie sort around here…especially when they match our manicures (my toenails are currently blue!).

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  47. Juliana says:

    Uru, I must confess that I have never been good in stats…so now I have people doing that for me hehehe!
    Anyway, these cookies look a lot of fun…like the blue!
    Have a wonderful week 😀

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  49. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says:

    Hehe well I have to admit that stats wasn’t my favourite and I had to do it for psych too! The conclusion after all those years studying it was that you shouldn’t trust any figures because they can all be shaped to make any sort of assertion 😛 A lecturer said that!

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  51. helene dsouza says:

    Eahh I don’t know what stats is since my subjects were all in german so well…
    But I hated accounts and maths, although maths is better then accounts. Anyhow… Just get through it and bake cookies such as the one on top to make life sweeter. =)
    You can do it Uru!

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  53. kitchenriffs says:

    If you don’t like stat, wait until you meet probability! Unfortunately, to go far in certain areas of psychology you really need to learn to use both, and use them well. Most students who find calculus a hurdle actually have weak algebra skills — really master algebra (much easier said than done, I grant you) and calculus (and stat and probability) become much easier. Anyway, you don’t want to hear about that! You want all of that to disappear. I don’t blame you! Great cookies, fun rant — thanks.

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  56. A_Boleyn says:

    Statistics is still useful even after you leave high school. In university I had to take a stats course even though I was in bio/chem studies and then I used them through grad school and in my biology master’s thesis.

    You blue marshmallow puffs .. PUFFED. So funny and colourful.

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  58. Brittany says:

    Math is AWFUL. I can easily say it’s my worst subject. I have to take precalculus/algebra soon and I am DREADING IT. I haven’t had math in years. At least there is always cookies right?

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  61. navane64 says:

    Maths and stats weren’t for me too but I made it to the border. On the other hand, these colorful cookies have crossed the border to high distinction.

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  62. hotlyspiced says:

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen blue marshmallow puffs. Your cookies are so pretty. My daughter is doing statistics also and I’ve never heard so much whinging! She hates it as much as you do xx

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  65. Kim@Treats & Trinkets says:

    I was actually good at stats *hides.* It made more sense to me than other kinds of math. It was geometry I couldn’t hack, which ended my (very brief) thoughts of going into architecture. And I dropped math my senior year too– the idea of calculus was too scary.

    Candy explosions are the best kind of explosions! The cookies look so pretty and tasty! I’m glad they’re half way around the world, or they’d be in my mouth.

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  66. movita beaucoup says:

    HA! I thought you were going to say you hated BLOG STATS! (I’ve gotta start doing stuff in the real world.) I remember being at university and hearing many a friend lament about stats – one of the toughest courses to get through. Thankfully, I was doing an English degree!

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  67. easyfoodsmith says:

    Ditto! Never liked Maths and I opted for Sociology and Psychology as my major in graduation. I had to study stats in Sociology though but it was okay.
    The cookies with marshmallows is a nice twist. Never thought about it!

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  71. Liz says:

    sorry about the maths thing. I envy you not 😉 And I do NOT hate those cookies–amazing! Thanks for sharing. For sure those must balance out all of stat’s negativity for you.

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