Crime Spree

So my crimes are getting bigger.  Last time it was just a .62 cent cookie cutter - this time a pound of hamburger.  I blame the exhaustion of pregnancy and the stress of the holidays.  There it was, after checking out and starting to bag, the pound of hamburger laying underneath one of the canvas bags I always bring with me in order to help save the environment.  I'm really a good person, honest - but I guess not honest enough to go back in line to pay for the pound of hamburger.

So I'm well underway on the christmas baking - 7 batches completed!  However, that is only 1/2 way done with just 11 days left until Christmas.  And really, I won't be baking on Christmas Eve, so that's 10 days left.  Wait, we're doing my family Christmas on the 23rd, so that's 9 days left.  Okay, 9 days left to make 7 more batches.

Before I start in on those seven batches I completed, I did make one more (unplanned) batch before I started the holiday baking.  I purposefully have been procrastinating on blogging this, because I think one of the hardest things a person can do is admit when they've messed up, are wrong and have to apologize.  When I was younger, just like all kids, I hated to say sorry.  I'm actually pretty good at it now with friends, family, (and even on the rare occasions when I have to admit that my husband is actually right and I'm wrong) - thanks Dad for really drilling apologies into my head and making me do it.  I'm the youngest of 4, I was wrong a lot growing up.

However, I hurt a co-worker - certainly not intentionally.  I have realized though that along with my fun, outgoing, passionate personality comes the side where I'm a little too passionate about my students (will do anything for them), a little too blunt on what I think needs to be done, and I can come across badly - and that's what happened.

To show this co-worker that I really was truly sorry and that I did not come off as intended, I baked a really yummy batch of cookies - Mike and I both gave it 5 out of 5 smiley faces - and I gave them all away - so I really was sorry.

#61 Sour Cream Chocolate Cookies
This soft chocolaty cookie also has chocolate chips and white chips in it - just chocolaty gooey goodness.

Now onto the holiday baking.  Why 14 batches?  Yeah, that's what I've been asking myself.  I planned on making 10 batches, but events keep coming up so I've needed to add.  Work decided to do a cookie exchange - 26 people signed up -  So I need a batch that makes at least 13 dozen (1/2 dozen for each person).  So that was added.  Then my Mom announced we're serving coffee at church - another 2 batches added.  Then I realized al lot of the batches I'm making actually don't lend themselves well to freezing, so added another freezable batch for all the little holiday things that happen towards the beginning of December, so yeah - 14 batches.  That's one more batch than last year and 3 more batches from the book than last Christmas (because last year I was foolish enough to bake two kinds of cookies that are my personal favorites - silly me - I have 623 recipes to get through, stick to the book).

1st batch of holiday cookies - Holiday Snickerdoodles - #62 overall
I'm not really sure why these are "Holiday" Snickerdoodles other than maybe the rum extract added in. Mike loved them - but he tends to like Snickerdoodle type cookies, so...

#63 Slice 'n' Bake fruitcake cookies
Okay, so fruitcake has a bad rap - totally deserved probably, I can't personally say, I've never had fruitcake.  How about fruitcake cookies?  Only a 3 and a 2 from Mike and me respectively, but the ladies at church liked them (even had a request for the recipe).  This is your traditional roll up the dough, refrigerate it, slide and bake cookie.  Add red and green candied cherries along with raisins before rolling it up into a log.

#64 Peppermint Pinwheels
Another slice n bake, but a little more involved than the last batch.  Before this dough can be rolled up into a log, I had to separate the dough in half, add peppermint and red coloring to the dough.  Then each half of the dough had to be rolled out into a rectangle (about the same size).  Then the two halves are placed on top of each other and it's supposed to be rolled up very tightly, resulting in the perfect pinwheel.

Yeah, I didn't end up with that picture perfect pinwheel cookie.  After I rolled it up, it was not tight - there were lots of spaces.  So I pounded my not tight enough log flat so there were no air holes. Then I rolled it into a log, this time with no air holes, but my cookie ended up looking more like a cookie with red swirls in it - still just as pretty, and of course still tasting the same.  It all comes out the same in the end is the moral of this 3 smiley face cookie.

#65 Christmas Sandwich Cookies
Yep - another stupid shaped sandwich cookie I'll never be making again.  Easy, just roll out the dough and use a cookie cutter to cut it out. First of all, I hate rolling out cookies, my cookie mat thing slides all over the place.  Plus, the dough was really hard (it was supposed to be) and it took a lot of effort to get it flat with a mat that slides all over the place.  Anyways, cook the little cookie shapes, after poking holes in them.  Then after they cool spread frosting on half of them and top with the other half.  Nevermind that the cookie is so delicate that they practically crumble upon picking it up.  Then I read the direction where after cutting the cookies out, you're supposed to toss and coat each of the delicate little dough shapes with sugar.

When Mike came up, I told him he was not allowed to rate them a 5, because I will never be making them again.  Maybe it's good I forgot the sugar coating - he only gave them a 3.

#66 Gingersnaps
Just your average gingersnap - I think you either love them or hate them.  A nice easy batch.  Too bad Mike rated these just a 1 - oh well - they're nice and easy - when I'm done with this whole project, they may be showing up on the christmas plates again.

#67 Italian Christmas Cookies
This is one of those added batches - for serving coffee - it makes 8 1/2 dozen, a nice big batch to serve a lot of people.  Expensive little cookies though.  They called for a whole container of ricotta cheese - that's $5.  Oh well, I got a free pound of hamburger the week before, I splurged and bought the container of cheese.  
These are amazing! And not too fussy!  A soft, buttery, ball of deliciousness.  The cookie by itself would probably be rather plain, but after baking it and cooling it, it calls for some icing (that I made) to go on top of it with a few sprinkles of red and green sugar.  So good!

#68 Chocolate Peppermint Cookie
These are pretty good, but they spread a little too thin.  The ones that didn't spread too much though are really good.  It's a chocolate chip cookie with peppermint candy with a little different texture than your average chocolate chip cookie.  I expect these to be gone on Sunday at coffee hour.

 

A bad bad thing

My cookie project has led me to do a bad bad thing - I'm a thief.

But first:

#57 Mock Apple Pie Bars 11/9/12
My sister got married - all four of us Larson kids are now married.  Good news for Dad - no more weddings to throw.  The gift opening party was held the day after and my Mom did all the baking and cooking for it (she bakes when she's nervous) except that she did ask me to contribute (you know the worry every good Swedish woman gets - that there won't be enough food).  Even the morning after the wedding I almost made another batch of bars to bring just in case.
These are mock apple pie bars because though they taste just like apple pie, they're actually made with zucchini.  I of course didn't tell anyone that until they already loved the bar.  Mike even rated it four out of five, but once he found out it was made with zucchini, he didn't eat anymore, what's up with that?

#58 Butter Pecan Cookies 11/9/12
Though it was the wedding weekend, this was also mother-in-law's birthday weekend.  Awhile back Mike saw this recipe in the book and reserved it for his mom, because he remembers that she used to buy butter pecan ice cream when he was little.  Unfortunately, after making this batch is when I started to come to the realization that my oven is bad.  Though I set the oven for the temperature called for, and I baked the cookies for less time than was called for, they were still burnt on the bottom.  Fortunately my mother-in-law is a person who realizes it's the thought that counts.  I did send them even though they were black on the bottom (though Mike thought I should throw them out).  Sorry Patsy - Happy Birthday.

During the week I began to test my oven with an oven thermometer.  It seems that the oven is always 25 degrees more than what it is set at.  That I can deal with, but just as I have it figured out... I set the oven dial at 350 to bake my dinner at 375.  My dinner got burned : (  The oven thermometer read 400, what!!?

#59 Cream Cheese Brownies 11/16/12
Old lady game night!  I baked these brownies to accompany the cookies that I deem as truly old lady cookies.  Old lady cookies are small cookies that are of course rather plain - wouldn't want to disturb the old digestive track.  My goal with the brownies was to go for the wow factor - because though the old lady cookies look impressive, they are indeed old lady cookies.  The brownies though good, did not get a wow.  They're made with of course cream cheese, but there's hot chocolate mix in them as well.

I managed to get my oven to cook at 350 for these brownies.  The 375 for the following cookies though proved challenging.  I nudged the oven dial ever so slightly earlier (before the brownies) to experiment and the temp went from 350 to 375 - perfect - I can handle this.  However, after the brownies baked, I nudged it again and it stayed at 350.  Nudged it a little more - still 350.  Turned it just a bit more and it jumped to 400.  Time for a new oven.

#60 Raspberry Treasures 11/16/12
This cookie is why I've done a bad bad thing.  I was at the grocery store this morning (I refuse to name the store as I don't want them to come and prosecute me) picking up my baking supplies, Thanksgiving supplies, etc.  I also picked up a circle cookie cutter as needed for this recipe.  I checked out, paid and began to bag my groceries, that's when I saw it.  My metal - same material and color as the grocery cart - cookie cutter was still in the cart.  I looked up, the clerk was already ringing up the next person in line and there were two more people behind that person.  Keep in mind I was exhausted - the type of exhausted that only someone who has been pregnant understands (26 weeks now) - I did not have the energy to go back in line to pay for a .65 cookie cutter; I stuck it in my bag and walked out.  I felt bad, I feel guilty, did I even out my karma by putting a dollar into the bell ringer's red kettle, I hope so.  But alas, it is done.

 
After these cookies, I think I know how fortune cookies are made.  These cookies were labor intensive.  I made the dough, refrigerated it, rolled it out, cookie cut it, filled it with raspberry pastry filling, folded it into triads and pinched the three parts together, brushed it with an egg/water mixture and then baked it in my non-functioning 50+ year old oven.  I think the only difference between this and the fortune cookie, replace the raspberry filling with paper and instead of triads - fold it in half and pinch the center together.

Normally I would be excited to do another project and get a new oven out of the deal, but in the last two months I have moved, replaced all the light fixtures, painted all the rooms, found a place for everything in the house, oh and have been growing a human - I'm exhausted.  This oven project is not as simple as replacing an old oven for a new oven either.  The oven I have is the 1960's small oven kind that is built into the cabinetry with the range on the countertop beside it.  Getting a new oven means tearing out that whole area and losing cabinetry - I cannot fathom a new kitchen design at the moment.  On the bright side, my new brother in law will be losing his house in the next few weeks and apparently will have a high end stove, dishwasher and refrigerator to "get rid of".  I think I could store that for him : )

How?

I want to know, how in the world do I match the quantity that the recipe calls for.  I'm almost always 1-2 dozen below the quantity that these different recipes call for.  You would think, I must be making the cookies too big.  However, I follow the guidelines.  Well, I follow them to the best that I can given the vague directions.  Often it says: "Drop by tablespoonfuls" - so I take a 1 tbsp measuring spoon and fill it twice (because that would be plural) and make the cookies that size - still, I'm short.

Today's batch came from the big batch bonanza chapter - supposed to make 12 dozen - it made 6 1/2 dozen.  Really?!

But I digress, I need to catch up and rewind a little bit.

#54 Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies 10/24/2012
I had a wonderful relaxing weekend last weekend - it was my crafty women retreat.  I went up to a camp on Thursday night, didn't return until Sunday night and sewed and scrapbooked all weekend with my mom, sister-in-law and a bunch of other women.  The women loved the cookies, they were gone rather quickly.
Mike?  He stayed home and did absolutely everything I left for him on a list.  Before you label me too quickly as "that kind of wife - the one who leaves lists", I very clearly told Mike he did not have to do anything on the list.  I knew he had already made plans to work on tearing out the trees, overgrown plants and shrubs and all sorts of other junk in our yard.  I was very clear that the things on the list were only if he needed a break from the yard, or if he found time to do it, and that I would be perfectly fine if he didn't get to anything on the list.  However, I do also know that Mike tends to like to try to impress me when he knows I won't be home for a while and tries to do a lot so that when I come home, I'll make a big deal of it; so I suspected he might try to do the whole list.  This trait of his is of course very nice, but it really would be fabulous if he just tried to impress me on a daily basis and not always have to wait until I leave so he can "surprise" me.  Anyways,  I walked in on Sunday night around 6:30 to a cooked lasagna dinner (it was just a frozen one, but still...) and everything on that list totally complete. I of course then had to hear about how it was done more efficient than I would've done, but again ..., just being supportive and grateful.  I thanked him profusely and told him how great everything looked (as soon as I walked in the door) and continued to be appreciative as I ate dinner.  He went on to point out each and every thing he did so that I could acknowledge it - then he commented on how he practically had to drag the thanks out of me : ) (somewhat teasingly I think).  Of course I find this hugely ironic because normally it's me doing all this work day in and day out after I teach for 8 hours a day, etc, etc - and I have been telling him that I feel it all goes unappreciated, so...  maybe now I'll get some thanks?

#55 Oatmeal Chip Cookies 10/25/2012
I so wish I hadn't forgot my camera in my desk for this batch.
I teach ELL (english to language learners) to 5th graders.  Most of my students are pretty fluent in English - I work in the mainstream classroom with all students and I push the use of academic language (see the previous blog in which my team led the professional development on academic language).  However, I had two students who are new to the country; 1 from Ecuador and 1 from Mexico.  Then this week, I got one more brand new student - he has been in the country for less than a week, he's also from Ecuador - he's defiantly a character.  What I find hilarious is that my two 5th grade girls are rather mature and motivated - this little one is not.  The girls give him looks and are chastising him for me; they're trying to get him in shape and to start working.  It's great!
This last week, we read a book called We Bake Cookies.  We talked about the ingredients and the steps.  So I decided, baking cookies at school would be a great hands on activity.  We would list the steps we needed to take using ordinal numbers like first, second, using the words then, next, last and the sentence frame "We need".  On Wednesday we wrote out our directions (using that language) and on Thursday we made our batch that they had chosen.  It was amazing how alive these three became and how much language they were using. They read through the recipe, used directions to tell another what we need next, etc.  They were so proud of their cookies.  Even my little new boy was very involved in the lesson and using the English (which as I mentioned, he normally needs to be pushed to do); he actually took a leadership role because as he described (in Spanish) he made cookies with Grandma a lot back in Ecuador.

Oh - and these cookies were amazing - they got a 5 from both Mike, myself and the few ladies who got to have a few at the crafty women retreat (it only made a dozen and a half batch).  I think it's the molasses in the cookie that actually made it so good; that and a  bit of cinnamon with the oatmeal and chocolate chips - pretty gooey irresistible.

#56 Today's so called 12 dozen batch -
Toffee Chip Cookies
I had high hopes for this batch - I thought it would receive a 5 from Mike (it only got a 4), because of the Heath toffee bits in it - Mike loves toffee.
This one combines a whole lot of things into one cookie.  After you make the basic dough, you add rice krispie cereal, oatmeal, coconut, pecans and the toffee.  But 12 dozen, I think not.  There was maybe 1 dozen I could have made smaller and split in 1/2 - but then I still would've only got to 7 dozen.

Anyways, I made this batch for my nephews' schools bake sale.  My sister who is ultra organized and is making each school just a little bit better both as a Minneapolis school board member and as a parent to her three boys.  She is helping coordinate the Northeast Middle School parent group; so they're having a bake sale on election day.  So if you are in the neighborhood, and you want to try one of my 623 creations, stop by and buy a batch. I'm sorry I have no details of time or where - just Tuesday.

Oh, and don't forget to vote on Tuesday.  I try not to discuss politics in general or post how I feel on facebook, but Minnesotans, please consider other people when you vote on Tuesday.  Do not assume we know how our children and children's children will feel about issues.  I ask you to do as our founding fathers did and separate your religious beliefs from our government practices, not everyone believes as you necessarily do.  I'll be proud to tell my children and my grandchildren that I was on the side that voted no against inequality.

I Did It!

1 year down and 53 batches made. Yep, 53 - I only need to make 52 a year to stay on track. I had my last 2 batches planned so that I would reach 52, but then our new neighbors brought over a bottle of wine that they had made, so of course I had to reciprocate.

So batch #51 (10/19/12) Oatmeal Raisin Cookies These are the cookies I made for our neighbors. The cookies themselves seemed to be much appreciated - the neighbor said they are his favorite kind. Personally, I like oatmeal raisin, but these weren't quite the soft chewy oatmeal raisin kind that the bakery makes. They get 3 smiley faces from me (Mike - 4)
Our neighbors on the other hand, they seem cool. The wife is pregnant and is actually due the day before me. We both are expecting boys, so yay! Hopefully our two boys get along and like each other. 

#52 Time for Halloween which means it's time for Cory's annual Halloween party again. This year Mike and I went as the milkman and the knocked up 50's housewife.

Candy Corn Cookies Normally the novelty/showy kind of cookies don't actually taste very good, but these are such a soft sugar cookie - it's hard to stop. Writing about it makes me want to go get another one. You know how you can buy a roll of cookie dough from the grocery store and then you slice the dough and bake the cookie? That's what these cookies are except that I made the cookie dough roll. It's probably a bit more work then just buying the log at the store. I had to separate the dough into 3 piles and color the dough orange and yellow (leave one pile white). Then I layered the dough into a shape of a triangle. After it was refrigerated, all I had to do was slice the triangle roll and bake them. Not too hard, right : )

#53 Great Pumpkin Brownie Okay, so I've learned that you really need to have the proper equipment to make some of these recipes. This recipe called for it to be baked on a 12 inch pizza pan; of course I don't have a pizza pan. I decided to put the batter on a cookie sheet. I took aluminum foil and shaped it into a 12 inch diameter circle. When I poured the batter into my makeshift contraption - it went fine. It wasn't until I checked on it in the oven that I realized the problem. Did you know that when aluminum foil gets heated up, it doesn't necessarily stay put. Part of the aluminum foil lifted up off the cookie sheet, this of course led to some of the batter spilling off the cookie sheet. Since the batter was thin on one side and thick on the other, the batter had cooked unevenly. Some of it was burnt and some of it was undone. But I didn't throw it out. Instead, I trashed the burnt part and took all the (mostly cooked) brownie and smooched it together into a 9 inch circle cake pan and let it cool together. This pumpkin brownie called for orange frosting on top of it, so it didn't matter what the actual brownie looked like. Overall, it went over just fine.

Now onto the 2nd year of this project.

Only 2 more batches to go before Friday to stay on track of 52 cookies a year.  The last couple of days cookies:

#49 Cranberry Oat Yummies
I thought these cookies were excellent.  They are a lot like an oatmeal raisin cookie, soft and chewy just like an oatmeal raisin cookie should be.  Instead of raisins, there are cranberries.  The cranberries give the cookie a pop.  Mike however rated these cookies rather low - only a 2 (he hasn't given anything a 1 yet - a cookie is still a cookie).  However I brought these cookies to our church's crafty women day and for my girls' tennis tournament today - and they were a big hit.  So I guess girls like this cookie?   It is a "healthy" cookie - filled with oatmeal, cranberries and egg substitutes.  Mike doesn't usually like things that aren't laden with sugar.  The cookies I made tonight however, got a 5 from Mike.

#50 Chocolate Malted Milk Cookies
It's no wonder Mike gave these a 5 - the recipe calls for malted milk powder, chocolate syrup, semi sweet chocolate chunks and milk chocolate chips - Mike loved it.  Unfortunately he only gets a couple - (spoiler alert) they're being mailed off to Indiana for his Dad's birthday. This cookie is everything you hope for I imagine when you buy it from a coffee shop or bakery or such: a gooey soft large chocolate chip cookie that melts in your mouth. They were good - and quick to make as the batch only makes about 18 3-4 inch diameter cookies. Happy Birthday Lynn!

Big crumbly mess

In the past two weeks, I've managed to make three batches. See I'll get to 52 batches before October 20th.

  #46 Dreamy Fudge Bar Cookies 10/5/12 These were so good, I wish I didn't have to buy it just to try it. That's right, this is my first cookie/bar that I had to buy back after making it.
 I was asked to make bars for a craft show that my church holds every year, and of course what good lutheran church doesn't sell bars.  So I had to buy a bar that I had donated to the church.

This bar was a bit of an adventure to make. The bar itself was fine, however because I was baking, I discovered that we had a mouse in the house. I knew that as soon as I moved into a house with an attached garage that I would get a mouse. The brown sugar I needed for these bars was down in the basement pantry. However, I was not the first to get to the brown sugar - it was torn open and the evidence was there. So sad. Not only was I freaked out about having a mouse, but I had to throw away the whole bag and go back to the grocery store to get a new unattacked bag of brown sugar. No worries now though, it's a week later now and my husband seems to have gotten rid of the mouse.

  #47 Soft Apple Butter Delights 10/7/12 This batch is this year's co-workers first batch for the school year.  My ELL team and I led the professional development this week. We educated the teachers about academic language and how to help all our students use academic language in the classroom. For those of you who don't know - academic language is the language of the classroom, of the workplace and of tests. Students who are english language learners, students from lower income households, students of vocabulary poor households need to be explicitly taught to use academic language. I'm very excited about what the ELL team has been doing in the classroom - it's great to hear students say "I predict the earth material will erode and deposit into a delta because rivers erode earth materials" - yes, that's from one of my fifth graders.

 Anyways, I made these cookies because teachers are exhausted by the end of the day and really don't look forward to sitting in PD for an hour and a half - cookies help. So the lesson to be learned from these cookies for all you readers out there - don't blame the teachers - we are working extremely hard to educate all students and produce deep meaningful thinkers for our next generation (sorry, I'm just tired of society blaming us "lazy" teachers - I wanted to point out just how hard we do work).

 By the way, these cookies were so soft - someone actually asked me if they were muffins that I just cut the tops off.

  #48 Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies 10/12/12 These cookies are where the title comes into play. They are delicious, however, I feel I really should just take all the cookies I got from this batch and mush it together to make one big ball of soft cookie - they fell apart as I took them off the sheets. I think I know where I went wrong with this cookie. It called for dried cherries to then be soaked in hot water and then to be dumped into the dough - cherries, liquid and all. I bought maraschino cherries and dried them out. Then I put them "in a small bowl" to soak in hot water.  There was no measurement listed for the amount of liquid to use. However, I dumped the water out before realizing the liquid was to go into the dough as well. So I then soaked the cherries again and dumped the liquid (and cherries) into the dough. The liquid made the dough very watery.  Upon baking, they just spread out. They were really soft and they taste pretty good - but whenever I do make them again, I think I'll try it without putting the liquid in.

Life happened

Wow - I haven't had a post since the end of May - I guess life happened. Since May 31st - School ended Tennis lessons started (coaching 4 hours of tennis a day) Found out I was (still am) pregnant Bought a house Went to Alaska for 2 weeks Started school again High school tennis Sold a house Moved - and since - have been painting, unpacking, etc) Throughout all this though, I have managed to bake a few cookies. I determined I need to make 52 batches a year in order to finish my little project year within my 12 year deadline. I'm a little behind my quota - I don't know why, it's not like I've been too busy. I just finished batch 45 today - I need to bake 7 more batches by October 20th to make my 52 - I can do it, right? So to catch up: #38 Frosted Fudge Brownies (6/10/12) These received a 5 and a 4 from Mike and me respectively. I think the title pretty much sums up what they are like - Fudgey brownies with chocolate frosting on it. #39 Crisp Graham cookies (6/14/2012) Another girls cabin weekend - yay! Basically an M and M cookie made with sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter and cracker crumbs. While I was at the cabin, Mike was in Indiana visiting family. It was just three days before that we had confirmed that I was pregnant - he had to wait until the end of the weekend to tell his family the news. However, these cookies that I sent were a hit. Now I was off to the cabin with my best friends and I had to try to keep it a secret - yeah, that didn't work. Everybody was just hanging out, and someone said - okay - time for shots and got them ready. I said, no I'm good - I tried to be sly and nonchalant - didn't feel like drinking, etc - but Tanell said "What, are you pregnant?" I said the line that Mike told me to say - "Well, I'm married and that could always be a possibility". However, Tanell kept on me and said don't give me any of that - are you pregnant?" I said, "maybe, maybe not" - It wasn't long before I confessed. #40 No Bake Fudgy Oat Cookies (7/2/12) It was a hot hot summer. It's not so fun to turn the oven on when it is hot. So - no bake cookies. This is a chocolate oatmeal cookie - the same cookie that my Mom made a lot when I was growing up.. I brought them up to the cabin and mom happened to have made her version. We put them head to head - the verdict - they're pretty much the same. My version has some coconut in it - her's does not. Still, tasted the same. #41 Beach Blanket Sugar Cookies (7/2/12) These are so simple - but made for so much fun. It's a sugar cookie that I rolled out into a rectangle shape that I just cut into smaller rectangles. The cookie is done - until you give it to the kids. It's their job to decorate the cookie with different colored frosting. Big hit 4th of July weekend with the nieces and nephews. Cris - my sister in law - frosted a cookie for her youngest son (20 month old Oscar). The video of Oscar eating this cookie is priceless - my description won't do it justice, but I'll try. Oscar was about ready to fall asleep. Cris gave him the cookie and he just stared at it (it was covered in yellow frosting) - he didn't look to sure about it. He kind of tentatively took a bite, and then he dug in. By the end of this cookie, he had yellow frosting on his face, his stomach, his hands and his hair (which now stood up in all directions). I would say Oscar would rate this cookie a 5 - Mike and I gave it a 3 - I guess we're a little over just needing frosting on a cookie to make it great. #42 Potato Chip Cookies (7/17/12) Another activity I participate in during the summer is the co-ed softball team. We're the Larson Dental team - a team full of 20 (mostly 30) something people that all grew up together from our old neighborhood. We had a potluck on our last game so of course I brought cookies. This cookie is at it says - made from potato chips but with the addition of butterscotch chips - so naturally Mike rated this a 5, me, only a 3. Mike's favorite thing ever is butterscotch (and he loves chips too, soooo...). #43 Chippy Blonde Brownies Made these at the cabin for Labor Day weekend. It's really just easier to make bars at the cabin than cookies - the cabin is not set up well for a major baking project. The only problem was this recipe called for an 11 x 7 pan - one I didn't have nor could I find (even at Target). I used the 9 x 13 pan and went with it. It made the brownies kind of thin though - they might have been better in the correct pan. They only received a fair rating from everyone. However, on the way home from the cabin we stopped at the Outlet Mall where at the kitchen store, I found an 11 x 7 pan - which is great because a lot of the brownie recipes call for that size. #44 Pudding Sugar Cookies (9/6/12) This is the last batch I made at the old house - in that new marvelous kitchen that my dad built for me. Alas, it had to come. If you've been reading my blogs, you know about my family and their hobbies. These cookies were made for yet another roofing project - this time at sister Sarah's house. I originally was supposed to be ground crew this weekend, but this was the first weekend we could be in the new house - so Mike and I worked on painting all weekend (all the ceilings done and 4 rooms painted - including the faux finished massive living room). Anyways, to contribute I did what I could and provided snacks for the work crew. A box of pudding mix is actually included in this recipe - apparently any flavor can be used, however lemon was suggested - so that's what I used. It's a great summer cookie - very light and crunchy. I didn't love it, but it was strangely addicting. #45 Butterscotch Snickerdoodles (9/30/12) So with all the stuff that's been happening in my life, I've needed help. I don't know if I would've been able to handle the move and selling the house and everything without my dad and Uncle Reid. While Mike and I were in Alaska, they fixed up all the little things that needed to be done before we listed the house. Then after we got back, they moved 2/3 of our stuff into storage so that our house could be properly "staged". Then when it came time to move, they only had 1 weekend in September available to help (unfortunately it was the weekend that Mike had a weekend long bachelor party to go to - and their was no way Mike and I'd be able to move everything on our own) - so my 62 year old dad and 64 or 65 year old Uncle moved all of our stuff on their own to the new house. So I think I owe them a bit of a thank you. My dad likes snicker doodle cookies and likes butterscotch - so this recipe sounded perfect. I'm not sure how they'll like them, as I just made them today - but unfortunately Mike only gave them a 3 and he loves butterscotch and likes snicker doodle cookies.

Cookies for Others

Amazing - I baked two batches of cookies today and I'm actually blogging about them today as well! Am I accomplished or what. (Plus I picked strawberries from the garden, went grocery shopping, got a load of laundry done and taught kindergartners all day - man I am productive). Note - because this weird blog format won't let me have paragraphs. I'll begin each paragraph with the word in bold. I'm finding it hard to figure out how to start this post. I feel like I am a caring person and I like to let others know that I am thinking about them, especially when a person needs it. However, probably like most people, I have good intentions but don't always follow through. On the other side of things, lately I feel like I could be doing more. I feel like I should volunteer more, give more, do more for others. I feel like I have been so blessed in life that I ought to give what I can, but following with my theme here, I have good intentions, but don't always follow through. So my two batches of cookies today have to do with that theme; hence my post title. I want to try to write the following in the most sensitive way possible. Since this is public I want to write this in a way that I would be perfectly okay with if the mentioned person read this herself. About 2 months ago a co-worker of mine received possibly the worst news one could get. Her husband received a grim medical diagnosis; the news is not good. Since then, this family has been in my thoughts and prayers. However, being newly married, I keep thinking about what if this were my situation. I think and I guess hope that it is human nature to be thankful it's not you when you hear news like that. I feel just horrible for this co-worker of mine. Just from how she talks and acts, you know that this is a strong marriage and this is the love of her life. I just feel so bad and helpless. Since hearing this news, I wanted to do what I could for this co-worker. I'm not close to her, I've only been working with her for 7 or so months. I'm not in her inner group, but this woman is the nicest woman and is a great teacher. I talked to my Aunt who lost her own husband to cancer a few years back and asked what was it that was the biggest comfort to her/my Uncle. She replied, just knowing that people were thinking about them. I planned on sending a few cards to this co-worker, cute funny ones - just to lift the spirits. Here it is the end of May and I haven't sent one. Worse yet is I've barely said anything to her. I feel awkward - I don't know what to say. Finally I had to email her to ask her to sign off on some paperwork for my own tenure process as a teacher (she's on my teaching team) and I asked what cookies her family loves. Apparently oatmeal chocolate chip is her husbands favorite - so that's the kind I made today. I hope this act does as intended and lift the spirits of this family and assuage my feelings of guilt for a few days. #36 Out on the Range Cookies These are possibly the best out of the 36 I have made. They are an oatmeal chocolate chip, but it has peanut butter in it as well. I couldn't leave the dough alone. Note to all who eat my cookies, I did not lick my fingers - I do not do that - after putting the dough on the cookie sheet - I took a small bit of dough for me and then wash my hands. As the little synopsis on the sidebar says, these cookies "combine the best of chocolate chip, oatmeal and peanut butter cookies into one treat". Okay, onto the guilt about not volunteering enough. There's a gardening committee at the church who will be working hard this weekend to beautify our church's busy corner. I'm a gardner, I enjoy it, what a great way to volunteer. I planned on working, unfortunately I'm in a lot of pain lately due to, what I finally got diagnosed after 2 months of horrible back pain, as a rotated pelvis. Doing any sort of manual labor, actually doing any sort of standing, walking, exercise, turning wrong, etc - puts me in pain for 2 days. However, the committee asked for a few cookie treats to snack on while they so unselfishly make our church beautiful. Of course if you're a believer of Joey from friends, you know that there is no unselfish good deeds - all good deeds are selfish (because they make you feel good about yourself). Note: If you know me at all, you know that I like to quote or reference "Friends" whenever I can, ; ) Anyways, batch # 37 Apple Butter Cookies So I didn't know what batch to make - so I just flipped opened my book and pointed to one. Unfortunately that brought me to the section cookie cutter delights (to the page of a bunch of star cookies). Frankly, I did not want to make those. I'm short on time, making 2 batches today and the whole pain the back factor made me page through my book until I found a "risky" but easy cookie. "Risky" because I don't know if I'll enjoy it so it won't be a problem to just give them away, and easy because it only makes 2 1/2 dozen and all I have to do is drop the dough on the sheets and pop them in the oven. So apple butter cookies it is. Did you know there is something called apple butter? Yep, you find it by the peanut butter. It has the consistency of thick apple sauce, and tastes kind of cinnamony. As for the cookies, they're okay. Really it's unfair for them to be tested right after the Out on the Range cookies. They are like a bread cookie - very moist and soft. Apple tasting with raisins in them. A very different kind of cookie.

The day of 24 dozen cookies

As usual, I find time to bake the cookies, but I never get around to writing about them. So again, I have two batches to write about. Mike and I have been looking at open houses lately - we have time before we NEED to buy, but if one pops up that we both love, we want to be ready to jump on it. In order to be ready, our current house needs to be ready to sell. I know, we just finished the kitchen, we already finished the basement, we made the bedroom into a sanctuary, we remodeled the bathrooms and we added more storage than one could ever possibly believe we have. What else is there you ask? The roof. So in typical Larson fashion, we arranged a weekend work crew composed of siblings and uncles to tear off the old and put on a new. On a weather sensitive project, trying to have everything ready and arranged can be a bit stressful. I was the ground crew who had to make sure the shingles got to the dumpster, and anticipate the needs of the roofers so that whatever they happened to need at any given moment - it'd be right there waiting for them. Plus, I had to make sure their was lunch and more importantly, donuts and mountain dew. As usual, the uncles and my dad swore that this is the last roof they will do. And as my sister Jenny pointed out "Aww, it's a typical roofing weekend, everyone is yelling at each other." With that said, I felt I owed something to all those who came to help, which brings me to cookie batch #34. I thought about making six different kinds of cookies (that's how many people helped out) and mixing all the cookies together so everyone got a variety. Then I decided to not be crazy and just look in the big batch bonanza section of my cookie cookbook and pick one from there. It had to be a batch with m&m's in it, because that is what my nieces and nephews wanted (their dad is the one who did the roofing, however 2 year old Eddie was pretty good at carrying shingles to the bucket). In my Big Batch Bonanza section of the cookbook, I found a cookie that has m&m's and makes 24 dozen - perfect - each person would get 4 dozen. 4/21/12 #34 Chunky Oatmeal Cookies I started this batch at 12:00 in the afternoon. I baked until I had to leave for my niece's birthday party - 3 hours later. By that time, I had about 14 dozen done. When I returned home, I baked for another hour and a half. 24 dozen cookies take a long time to bake. However, I think they were a hit. Uncle Reid got his batch right away. Three days later when Mike saw my other Uncles at "therapy" (the bar where the men in my family like to meet every week) he wanted to know where his cookies were. Fortunately I sent them with Mike - but then my Uncle Reid claimed that the other Uncles got more. Sheesh - you would think a bagful of cookies would be enough. And they all did get the same amount, I counted them out. Now one of the biggest batches in the book is done. There is one batch that makes 26 dozen cookies - maybe the next roof we have to have done, I'll make those. 5/12/12 Batch #35 Mom's Soft Raisin Cookies It occurred to me that it is Mother's day tomorrow and that I would be a bad daughter and bad daughter-in-law if I did absolutely nothing - and I don't think I can count on Mike to do anything for his Mom, other than maybe call her - so I turned to what seems to always makes everyone happy - their own batch of cookies. What better cookie to celebrate mothers' day with than a cookie called: "Mom's soft raisin cookies" . Granted my mother-in-law will not get them tomorrow as I just baked them today and we have to mail them, but I hope the saying "it's the thought that counts" applies here. These are yummy cookies - they are really soft with just a hint of nutmeg and cinnamon in it. Also, the key is to cook the raisins in a cup of water to get the raisins really soft. I'm all caught up now. Happy Mothers Day!

Easter Cookies

I had really good intentions to write this post the night before Easter when I made the Easter cookies, but after rolling out dough, cutting out 70+ flower cookies, placing them on sucker sticks, and frosting the 70 cookies, I was a little tired. Plus, as a reward for helping me frost a few cookies, I told Mike I'd go to American Reunion with me. Help me readers, I think I married a teenager! Mike doesn't like any movies. Really, he likes about 4 movies - all made in the 80's or 90's - no new movies - but American Reunion is a continuation of the original movie that he fell in love with in the 90's. To his credit, the movie was actually better than I expected. But what's up with that? Anybody know anyone else who stopped liking any movie made after their early 20's? He's the same with his music too? He can't explain it to me, so if anyone else is like that - I'd love to know the reasoning behind it. Batch #33 Almond Butter Cookie Bouquet This was a tough batch - I knew it would be a tough batch before I started, but I foolishly thought - I'm awesome at making cookies, I can whip these up in no time. Never mind the excruciating pain my neck and my shoulders have been giving me - it can't be that bad (tennis season has been especially rough on me this year - and the whole turning 29 thing - my body says it is through). These thoughts weren't actually running through my mind beforehand - it was actually more in hindsight. FYI - when you are having trouble turning your head because it is literally a "pain in the neck" it's not the best idea to make cut-out cookies that are time and labor intensive. The cookies were a huge hit. As I said, Mike helped me frost them - probably because I was hinting not at all subtly about how much pain I was in. He wrote our nieces' names on some of the cookies, he ate the mistakes, he did his best with using the new decorating container thingy I got from Cub - all in all - a pretty great guy.

Overall: We both gave them 4 smiley faces - it was the frosting that made them especially great.

Happy Birthdays

March 17 Batch #30 Blarney Stone Bars Ladies movie weekend at the cabin. I had a meeting all day at work on Friday - I didn't get out until 3:30. I hate when work life gets in the way of me trying to have fun - how dare you job! Since it was St. Patricks day, I felt I should make a holiday related cookie from the cookbook - it's not that I'm at all Irish in any way or even care about St. Patrick's day - it's just that I have this cookie challenge and I'm not going to make St. Patricks day cookies in September or something. I had a few options - including green Shamrock cookies of course. However, because I was baking these at the cabin, and the cabin doesn't lend itself well to cookie baking (no mixer and only 1 cookie sheet), I decided to make bars - which is also in the cookbook. The bars that are St. Patrick's Day themed are Blarney Stone Bars. The bars were made with some brown sugar, oatmeal, and had toffee bits and pecans in them. I didn't think they were all that great, the one redeeming quality was that it was topped with green frosting (see, St. Patrick themed). One of the ladies really liked the bars, everyone else just had 1 - so clearly not a big hit. March 31st Batch #31 Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies Happy 70th Birthday Mike's Uncle Jim March 29th - my 29th birthday. An excellent day. I was surprised in the morning by waking up and finding 29 reese's pb cups in the shape of 29. Thanks Mike! Dinner Plans - I wanted to make sure that we went out and that I wouldn't have to cook. So a while ago I purchased a Crowd cut coupon to Jax; I had the Filet Mignon. So yummy. I don't think I needed to have worried about Mike not recognizing my birthday though - he went all out. He went ahead and made the reservations and got the Happy Birthday Mandy matches that Jax always does. Then he surprised the heck out of me on March 31st. So a couple weeks ago, I told Mike I wanted a party - I didn't want to have to plan it or have to decide anything about it - I wanted him to be in charge of it. He likes to tease me that he had to give me a surprise party that I asked for. Anyways, before I asked for this "surprise party", we got an invite to our friends' anniversary party for March 31st. Yep - you guessed it - it was my surprise party. I was totally surprised because this "anniversary party" was set up before I had asked for my party. He was already on top of it - he's a good guy. Anyway, what does that have to do with the 31st batch of cookies? Nothing really - I just wanted to share about my birthday - I felt it was a fun day. However, while out to dinner at Jax - Mike's mom texted us to remind Mike that it was his Uncle/godfather's 70th birthday the following Monday. After much discussion about how to properly recognize a 70th birthday I figured I could make the cookies Friday night and get them in the mail Saturday morning. I tried to text Mike's Aunt Joann to ask her what cookies Uncle Jim likes. However, Patsy (Mike's mom) gave me the wrong number. So instead I got a call from an angry Hoosier wanting to know why I was texting him. When I apologized for having the wrong number he wanted to know who I was trying to text (Joann), then he wanted to know who Joann was and who Jim was and where I was from. I'm sorry Mr. Hoosier man who clearly must have to pay for texting - I was just trying to do something nice. So I went ahead and made Banana Chocolate Chip cookies. These were excellent. They taste like Banana Bread with chocolate chips. I gave them 5 smiley faces. Mike only gave them 3 because he thought they were just chocolate chip cookies so when he bit into them, he was expecting a very different texture (crunchy - not soft and moist) and taste. We did get them in the mail Saturday morning - still no word from Uncle Jim if he's received them. They were really soft (a quality I deem a must in most cookies), so I'm worried that they might get all stuck together and turn into one giant lumpy cookie. Let me know how they turned out Jim and Joann. Heimann children - if you're reading this - you know where you can go to get some cookies. April 2nd Batch #32 Butterscotch Cookies Happy Birthday (tomorrow) Dad! So my dad is a pretty great guy. If you haven't figured it out from previous blog posts - he does a lot of work for us. If you have read my previous posts - you may know that he redid my entire kitchen. He actually has also finished my basement, remodeled the bathroom, redid my bedroom, tore out my chimney, added a closet, etc. Just today he was over cutting my lawn. He has started a lawn mowing/snow removal business. Personally, I think it's a huge step backwards from the dentistry business, but hey - he mows my lawn and snowplows my walks, so I'm not complaining. Plus I have the greenest lawn on the whole block which I attribute to the fertilizing he did last fall. In a couple more weeks, he's putting a new roof on my house. I'm not just saying he's great because of all the stuff he does for us (though that is pretty wonderful - everyone I know is so jealous of that), he gives us advice (when we ask), he is always willing to help - thanks for the tax help, and he was always really calm and helped us work out our problems when we were growing up - except for the time I called him #$$#@ of a $%##@ - he was not calm that time. (Except my punishment was going out to pie with him - maybe I should call him a $%## of a $#$@# again, I could really go for some french silk pie right about now). Anyways, it's his birthday again. The thing with dad though is he really doesn't like getting gifts. He doesn't know how to respond; supposedly it makes him feel uncomfortable. It doesn't feel right doing nothing though. I've been trying to figure out for a couple weeks what I could do. Then duh, as I was making Uncle Jim birthday cookies, it occurred to me this would be the perfect thing for Dad. He loves cookies - butterscotch in particular. So Butterscotch Cookies it is. Then I realized, hey - I've got a fancy dinner going today as well (Moist Turkey Breast with White Wine Gravy) I'll invite Mom and Dad over for dinner. Grandma Milly ended up coming too since Mom cooks for her once a week and this way she could have dinner with us and Mom is off the hook this week. So all came over for dinner. The dinner itself wasn't great. Did you know that White Wine Vinegar is NOT the same thing as white wine. So the Turkey gravy was a little too vinegary. The cookies were a big hit. I gave Dad the plate of cookies and said you don't have to share if you don't want to. He said - okay - and then did not share them. Mom tried to get some - he wouldn't let her have any. I hadn't put all the cookies on the plate though, so I was able to give everyone else a cookie. My Dad ate all the cookies on the plate but 2 (I think there were about a dozen on the plate to begin with). So I guess my mission was accomplished. Next batch: Easter cookies - again, not that we normally have cookie at Easter time, but when would I ever make Easter cookies.

Boring entry - skip it. Just for a record.

Frankly, I have put this latest post off for a while because it wasn't all that interesting to me, but I want to record this endeavor of mine. So batch #28 S'more cookies I've been craving something sweet, seems like constantly. I've probably been craving because I'm now kind of used to having something sweet around lately - and I was out. The body gets used to having something sweet, however when you stop eating sweets your body adjusts pretty quickly. So one Saturday (sometime late February) I made these cookies just to have around. Actually, I posted it on Facebook and invited people to come over. I was bored and no one came over, tear. They were good - we rated them a four. They have marshmallows, oatmeal, chocolate chips in them - I would not call them a s'more cookie. To me a s'more cookie would need a bit of graham cracker in there - not oatmeal. If I invented a s'more cookie - (first, it wouldn't be a cookie, but a bar). I'd line the pan with graham crackers, put some sort of caramel sauce in order to unite the bottom. I layer it with marshmallows and chocolate, maybe some coconut - something like that. Batch #29 Light Cream Cheese Streusal Bars These were heavenly. It was a chocolate crumbly layer on the bottom, with a cream cheese middle and the crumbly mixture on top. I was worried this wouldn't turn out. I needed to cut up the cold butter with a fork (mixed with the cocoa powder and such) - I worked really hard at it, it took a bit of muscle - but then when I baked it, it looked like the crumbly chocolate mixture didn't melt or anything - it still looked really crumbly. But after I put it in the fridge to harden, we were good. I made this for my Creative Memories party. I'm sorry, this posting really sucks. It's not interesting, its not funny - I'll try to de better next time. Speaking of which - heading up to the cabin this weekend -I'll be making Blarney Stone Bars in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. Hopefully the weekend is fun and good so I have something interesting to write about. I'm really quite ashamed as a teacher. I know all the tools to make writing better and more creative - I just don't want to go through the work to do it.

Valentines Cookies

Ok, I'm bad - I went a whole week after making my valentines cookies before writing about it. Forgive me, the less than 5 people who actually read this. Valentines Day: I made two different cookies, bought heath bars for my husband (his favorite), arranged the heath bars into a heart and left a note for my husband. I also made the dinner arrangements. That's what I did for Mike. Here's what he did for me: ........... Fortunately I bought myself some chocolates the day before and surprised myself with them. Then at the lovely dinner Groupon provided us with at St. Anthony Village Pub, I made him put a reminder in his phone for next year's valentines day to make the dinner plans, I really don't need a gift but if he wanted to bring me chocolates or flowers I wouldn't fault him for it. Okay, the cookies: 2/12/12 Batch #26 Chocolate Heart Cookies This cookie (obviously in the shape of a heart) was the first cookie cutter cookie I have made since getting my rolling cloth and rolling pin cover from Mom (thanks Mom) at Christmas. This made making these cookies so much easier than any of the other cookie cutter cookies (where I would spread flour all over my metal table and scrape cookie dough off the table as I tried not to break them). Anyways, these beautiful cookies are chocolate hearts dipped halfway on each side into white chocolate. Then drizzled on top of that are fancy squiggly lines with melted chocolate. These were a fan favorite. A thin delicate cookie with a lot of flavor (and normally I don't even like white chocolate). 2/13/12 Batch #27 Linzer Cookies (Mike did not like these because it has cinnamon and nutmeg in it - which he hates and raspberry jam - which he also does not like - so I guess I didn't really make him any cookies for Valentines since I gave all the cookies away). Since the first heart cookie went so well, I decided to make another batch that required the use of a cookie cutter. This cookie is actually a sandwich cookie (and look impressive - which they better because they were a lot of work) To make these I rolled out the cookie dough, cut the hearts out and then in half of the hearts, cut out a smaller heart inside. After they baked and cooled, I spread raspberry jam on the complete heart cookie and took the heart cookie with the heart inside on top - to make a sandwich cookie in which you could see the inside. I know, that's a really convoluted explanation of that cookie, and I wish I had a picture, but it's been a pain trying to upload pictures (mainly because my computer is ancient) - until now - I have switched from being a PC user to a brand new MacBook Pro user - so hopefully I'll be able to include pictures of my cookies now with no problems. Only thing is, I never took a picture of those heart cookies and they were eaten rather quickly by Grandma's nursing home and the Pillsbury teachers.

Super Bowl Cookies

Like I need much of an excuse to make cookies. This weekend it's the super bowl. The whole family is coming over; it's just a reason for me to make cookies and a reason for everyone to see the new kitchen. I looked through my book and it has Easter cookies, valentines cookies, back to school cookies, but no Super Bowl cookies. I looked for cookies that would relate to the Giants or July 4th cookies for the Patriots, but there was nothing. You'd think there would be something for Super Bowl among the 623 recipes, but no. So I skipped the theme and made two recipes just for the heck of it. #24: Brownies in a cone 2/5/12 These are brownies, not cookies - but remember, my book has brownies and bars in it as well. These just looked like fun. It only makes about a dozen in a half, the family is 17 people big, so I thought "perfect"! These are possibly the cutest dessert I've made that doesn't require Martha Stewart craziness. Basically, the average person can make these in less than an hour and not go crazy (unlike those stupid ghost sandwich cookies I made at Halloween). This dessert is harder than brownies from a box but easier than a batch of cookies. You make the brownie batter, pour some into each ice cream cone and bake it. After they're cooled, you dip them in some chocolate sauce (made from melted choc. chips and shortening) and top it with sprinkles. I liked the idea of having an ice cream buster party (my grandparents used to have those for us kids when we were little) without the cold ice cream in the month of February. I plan to let the kids top it with cool whip and a cherry. We'll see how it turns out this afternoon. #25: Giant Peanut Brittle Cookies 2/5/12 These are my Super Bowl Themed Cookies because they are "GIANT". These are large peanut butter cookies with melted peanut butter chips spread on top of 1/2 the cookie with peanut brittle sprinkled on top. This batch also makes about a dozen in a half. This way I shouldn't have any leftovers and they won't be all be eaten by Mike and me. So I guess I'll just forget the Patriots today. That's alright - I really don't like Brady anyways. The Patriots just seem like a snobby sort of team; like the Edina of football teams. They think they're better than everyone else. Plus, the Mannings are like football royalty, I think I'll root for them. Go Giants! Really, I'm just watching the game for the commercials. Go commercials!

Cabin Weekend

You've heard about Old Lady Game night - take the fun of Old Lady Game night and turn it into an entire weekend up at my cabin. 7 women, three little boys (sons of the women) and my husband. Mike was given the option of coming or staying home; he wanted to come. He had a weekend full of bonfires and and the casino with Uncle Robb. Us ladies had a weekend full of innocence; a weekend of flower pressing; going to bed early and Bible talks (if you know me at all you can tell how full of sh!+ I am) Anyways, there actually was some cookie baking done. Batch #22 1-26-12 Peanut Butter Brownie Bars Possibly too rich to handle. A fudge brownie base sprinkled with peanut butter cups and peanuts. Follow that with a topping made of chocolate chips, peanut butter, butter, rice krispies and a teaspoon of vanilla. Mike very much likes these. Another 5 smiley face recipe. He can't leave them alone. My friend Megan couldn't leave them alone either. Batch #23 1-28-12 Cherry Oatmeal Cookies These unlike the bars, I actually made at the cabin. Note, it's not as much fun making cookies when you have just one (small) cookie sheet, only a hand mixer, a small mixing bowl and you are slightly hungover. I powered through all that though and made another high ranking smiley face recipe (4 from Mike but my friend Emily gives them a 5 - she took quite a few home with her "for the ride home") This is your basic oatmeal cookie but with cherry chips in them. However, have you ever heard of cherry chips? I assumed the recipe means like chocolate chips but cherry chips. I looked; I found mint chips, cinnamon chips but no cherry chips. I reasoned that oatmeal raisin cookies is a common combination, so I bought cherry raisins - it was a successful substitution. 23 cookie recipes down - that means only 600 more to go. I think 23 recipes in span of 4 months is downright impressive. At this rate I'll get 70 done a year and be done in..... 9 years! Oy!

New Kitchen

So it worked, my last post outlining the arguments about why I needed a new kitchen worked! Actually, my dad was looking for a project and my mom wasn't ready for him to start the bedroom; that's why I got my new kitchen.
I didn't even know it was happening. My husband and I went down to Indiana for Christmas. On our drive home ( a 13 hour drive) Mike told me "remind me to tell you about your last christmas present when we get home". So an agonizing 13 hours later, we arrive home. I open my front door and find my stove in my living room. The kitchen was completely gutted. Everything that was in the kitchen was put in the first floor bedroom, not how I would've arranged it, but hey, I wouldn't complain. So over the next three weeks we got our new cabinets, island, flooring, countertops, sink and the best thing ever!, a garbage disposal and dishwasher.

So my first cookies in the new kitchen? Batch #21 Peanut butter candy cookies!
These cookies are pretty incredible (but not 5 smiley face incredible, just 4 smileys). They're chunky peanut butter cookies with crushed up butterfinger bars inside of them. Side note: 5 butterfinger bars at 2.1 oz each = 16 fun size butterfinger candy bars. I made my husband figure out that math.

I made these cookies for my advocating for esl students masters class (the 15 member class takes turns bringing treats). Yes, I decided to go back to school to get my masters; I may have been on a cookie high with the I can do anything attitude when I made that decision. I'm not so sure about this whole writing a thesis thing. I may not be cut out for this program, maybe I'll just stick to cookie cut outs.