Baking by Feel: Anger Is My Compass

I am reclaiming the label of Angry Black Woman.

Angry Black Woman is a stereotype that strives to burden Black women by insisting they be seen as belligerent, aloof, argumentative, and any number of other negative attributes. It is a stereotype that mostly plays out in the workplace, where Black women make 67 cents to the dollar and deal with a barrage of personal and professional attacks. But its weaponization is not exclusive to that realm. Why is this stereotype so prevalent? Because it is easier to say that a Black woman is angry instead of understanding that Black women are advocating for themselves, being righteously frustrated, and calling out the B.S. 

The words Angry Black Woman come together seamlessly after decades of being used to berate Black women who are in their power and voice. I advocate for myself. My voice righteously calls out the B.S. Anything that is not of “the standard” can cause people to call you out of your name. But Black women will not be intimidated and duplicated to fit the mold society is baking us into. Never let someone call you out of who you are.

Anger As an Ingredient

When Feminist Book Club Content Contributors received a copy of Baking by Feel by Becca Rea-Tucker, I claimed “Angry” from the “Mad” section of the recipes. The baked good for “angry” was “Chocolate Graham Cracker Cookies.” I recognized the fury of tastes and ingredients that were in the dessert.

Smashing the graham crackers was fun. I made that noise. I took up space. I gripped the rolling pin, which I usually use to softly roll out pizza dough. Power was in my hold.

The cookie itself was soft on the inside. All the mess on the counter and ingredients came together for that delectable taste. My loved ones enjoyed the cookies. 

Baking with Anger

Baking is one of my favorite experiences. Baking is my Bad Romance. I love a process with an end goal met. Baking these cookies was a treat and a virtue. Molding the dough together, tearing the parchment paper only for it to be uneven, and waiting for the cookies to bake brought a calm. There is calm amidst anger.

I also learned how to separate out an egg yolk. Therefore, upgrade me to a Learning Angry Black Woman.

Here’s what my process looked like. First, I had to smash the graham crackers:

Tada!

Then I made a chocolate dough:

And I added in the graham crackers:

Eventually, these cookies came out of the oven (here they are, minus one):

Here’s where that missing cookie went:

Delicious!

You can find our previous Baking by Feel test drives here, here, here, and here.

Ashley Paul

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Ashley Paul is a traveler, runner, and baker. She is an Everlasting Bookworm and Culture Maven. She is passionate about supporting high school juniors and seniors to write compelling stories for their post-secondary careers. She loves stories with social commentary, atmospheric writing, and compelling characters.