Post Holiday Wind Down

Will it ever end?!! We've had construction going on in this house for over a year now.  Last year at this time, we were close to finishing up the remodel of our basement.  Figuring out carpet was a pain in the butt.  When the installers came to install it, they brought the wrong carpet.  We had a party the following weekend, and they had to reorder the carpet and we didn't have our basement ready for the party.  Fast forward a year, and I'm trying to figure out carpeting (for the bedroom addition).  Let's just say it can be hard when you have family involved (giving you free labor and their opinions and wants as well).

I've learned in construction you can choose 2 of the 3: fast, good and cheap.  Lately, I'm not sure if we have any.  We certainly have never had fast.  We usually have good - although when my contractor questions the way my dad (the free labor) does things and says that's not what is normally done - not sure if we have good.  And cheap - the free labor - yes.  But dang - hiring out siding, demolition, sheetrock, roofing, - that adds up.

I have managed to make a few cookies this past month.

#325 Caramel-filled Chocolate Cookies
It's hard for me to wind down in January.  I'm naturally an extrovert and when I go from party every weekend to absolutely nothing - I find myself bugging people to get together.  I needed a girls night and fortunately it worked out for my friends and I to get together.  And these cookies with a surprise middle were too tempting for anyone to resist.

1 cup butter, softenend                                                              3/4 cup baking cocoa
1 cup plus 1 tbs sugar, divided                                                  1 tsp baking soda
1 cup packed brown sugar                                                        1-1/4 cups chopped pecans, divided
2 eggs                                                                                        1 pkg (13 oz) Rolos
1 tsp vanilla extract                                                                   4 squares (1 oz each) white baking          2-1/2 cups flour                                                                                chocolate        
  
In a large bowl, cream butter, 1 cup sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla.  Combine the flour, cocoa and baking soda; gradually add to the creamed mixture, beating just until combined.  Stir in 1/2 cup pecans.

Shape a tablespoonful of dough around each candy, forming a ball in a small bowl, combine the remaining sugar and pecans; dip each cookie halfway.  Place nut side up 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets.

Bake at 375 or 7-10 minutes or until tops are slightly cracked.  Cool for 3 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

In a microwave, melt white chocolate at 70% power for 1 minute; stir.  Microwave at additional 10-20 second intervals, stirring until smooth.  Drizzle over cookies.

#326 Cherry Icebox Cookies
There have been treats all year at my workplace, but I generally don't get any (treat day is Wednesday and I don't work Wednesdays).  I volunteered anyways to bring treat one day (because then I get to cross a cookie off from the book).

This recipe that supposedly makes 6 dozen seemed like a good fit.  They'd store well (since I was delivering the treat a day early) and it was a little different.  However, do the math:

I had to make four 12 inch rolls (this is a slice and bake cookie).  Then with every 12 inch roll, I have to cut 1/4 inch slices.  So that winds up to be 48 cookies per each roll.  Times that by 4.  That's a lot more than 6 dozen. 

But all except about 5 were eaten, so I guess I made the right amount for my co-workers.

#327 Double Frosted Brownies
I hope everyone has that friend that you can say anything and everything to. The one that is there for you for anything, the one that makes you pee your pant laughing, and the one that is the bad influence on you (in a good way).  I have that friend and was so excited for our girls weekend.  I think I slept a total of 8 hours over the two nights (kids woke me up at 6:30am after I stayed up until 4 am), but it's worth it.

Made these yummy brownies for the weekend:

4 eggs                                                                    Frosting: 
1 cup canola oil                                                     1 can (16oz) vanilla frosting
1-1/2 cups sugar                                                     1 tbs rum extract
1/2 cup packed brown sugar 
1/4 cup water                                                         Glaze:
2 tsp vanilla extract                                              1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups flour                                                    1 tbs canola oil
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, oil, sugars, water and vanilla.  Combine the flour, cocoa, salt and walnuts; stir into egg mixture until blended.  

Pour into a greased 15x10x1-in baking pan.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until center is set.  Cool on a wire rack.  Combine frosting and extract; spread over brownies.  Chill for 30 minutes.

In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and oil; stir until smooth.  Drizzle over frosting.  Let stand until set before cutting. 

Trying to slow down

All right, its 2018, another January and another chance to refresh.  I'm sitting here in the middle of the day (as the girls take their naps and I let my boy play ipad); thinking about how I really am going to slow down this year.  I'm really going to take time for me and not fill all of my time with to do lists.  It's really easy to think like that as I have an extra week off from work (we don't go back to school until the 8th) and I have all my current to do lists done.  I'm not all that optimistic about being able to actually slow down - as my house is still under construction - but one can hope.

I did slow down the cookie baking this holiday season.  I only made seven batches this season rather than my normal 9-12 batches.

#318 Chocolate Mint Creams
I was super excited about this (obviously) chocolatey minty cookie.  But the cookie was more like a chocolate wafer and the cream (mint frosting) just didn't seem to be the right texture to go with the thin wafer.  Still, not bad.  We had an early Christmas party and as I realized (too late); most of my cookies that I picked for this year, don't freeze well.  So I made this batch and only frosted half of them and froze the other half (and frosted later). 

Does anyone know, can you freeze cookies with frosting?  Most of the frostings that are used in this book have some dairy in it, and I've heard that you shouldn't freeze dairy. 

#319 Cinnamon-Sugar Crackle Cookies
Basically a snicker-doodle and this years big hit.  I found out my husband just kept snacking on these - barely had enough to share by Christmas.

#320 Candied Orange Date Bars
Whoops - Christmas Pageant and then the potluck.  I forgot to include that when I planned out which cookies I was making this season.  So this one got thrown in.  I was more than happy to give these away.  Nobody in this household is a big date fan.  Essentially a date bar - with an interesting twist with orange candy slices.

#321 Brown Sugar Cutouts
I feel like it's a rule, every Christmas I have to make a cookie cutter cookie.  I don't like making cookie cutter cookies; it's labor intensive.  But I think I have to.  Plus, now my 4 year old feels like these are the cookies that we have to give to Santa.  This book has plenty of cookie cutter recipes so I have to anyway and I guess it's nice to get it off the list.  But why do all Christmas cookies seem to be so much more complicated than regular cookies.  I'm all ready making more cookies than I usually do during the holiday season; why do they need to be harder.

#322 Raspberry Ribbons
These must be okay - Mike gave them a 2 - but he hates raspberry.  Most raspberry cookies he gives a 1.  These are fancy cookies, but delicate.  They kept breaking in half. 

#323 Star Sandwich Cookies
These were really yummy ones too but also a cutout cookie.  They were also a sandwich cookie, so you go through all the effort of a cutout cookie just to wind up with half the number of cookies, because it takes two cookies to make one (two cookies with frosting in between).  Very pretty with red frosting and red sprinkles.

#324 Caramel Tassies
I was really hoping these wouldn't be good cookies, because they were ridicuolously difficult - I ended up throwing a little less than half the batter away because I didn't want to make anymore (or maybe they only seemed so difficult because I ended up coming down with the stomach flu that day).  This batch says it makes 4 dozen - but I used over half the batter and I only made about 12.  You have to take the batter, roll it into balls and then try to push it into mini muffin pans.  Then of course you make a caramel filling, fill the cookie.  On top of that, need to make a frosting and pipe that on top of the filling.

Unfortunately, these are delicious.  I'm going to go eat the last one that's left in the fridge right now.