Sugar Shock

We have eggs, more eggs than we need (I sold a dozen today.) so yesterday I decided to use four and make bread pudding. I warmed the milk, broke the bread into pieces, and beat the eggs, slightly. Sugar. I needed 3/4 cup sugar. I got out the canister and peeled off the lid. I do wish I could have seen my own expression when I caught a glimpse inside.

The mind is a funny thing. It works fast, so fast I scarcely had a chance to look inside, be shocked, wonder what in the world was inhabiting my sugar canister before I realized what was going on. They looked like manure balls, nine of them, dark brown and half covered with sugar, but of course they weren't.

A week and a half ago I'd made a double batch of molasses cookies and rather than roll the balls of dough in a bowl of sugar, I dropped them into the sugar canister. It worked like a charm and the last couple sheets I'd even snapped the lid in place and given it a bit of a shake to cover the balls with sugar. The cookies were beautiful and cooling on the table. I remember turning around, feeling like there should have been another sheet of cookies to bake, but both cookie sheets were empty so I cleaned up the kitchen and put everything away. Oops! It's a rather good thing I decided to bake a bread pudding. Sometimes months go by between baking adventures and I can only imagine what those dough balls might have looked like by the end of May...

I am not alone in my brain lapse. My sister, intending to make cookies from a cake mix, put her brain into autopilot and instead of cookies ended up with a cake. She started reading the recipe and blindly followed along. She may not of gotten cookies out of the deal, but she did end up with a lovely dessert.

Cookies and a Day at Work

I stayed home on Saturday. It took some stubborn willpower, but I did it, just to prove I could. I even made a couple batches of cookies, just because I wanted to. And I learned not to warm coconut oil in my microwave if there is vanilla sealed in the bottom of the jar along with it. That vanilla warmed up and blew the coconut oil right out of the jar and made a mess of my microwave.

I did not stay home today. I traded my Wednesday at work for Superbowl Sunday and after church I headed off to "The Pen". It was a crazy place today. Too many of the members who need assistance walking were hopping out of their chairs. The poor CNA's ran from one to another trying to keep everyone safe. I tried to help but there is really very little I can do aside from hold a hand or be another pair of watching eyes.

My "dear friend" was not pleased with me today. She is the anxious sort and her anxiety is getting the better of her lately. She wants me to "help" her do things like go to the toilet or get into bed, but I am hired to be a hands-off companion and am not able to assist her with such things. She asked me, in a nasty tone, why I had to be so nasty. She told me I only think about myself. She called me a Son of a -----. She let me know, in no uncertain terms that she was highly displeased with my performance. I answered her kindly and was thoroughly amused, which, come to think of it, would probably annoy her no end. Ha ha!

Cookies, Kind of...

Rachel and I made cookies today. Not the fancy cutout kind, but cookies plain and simple. Snickerdoodles and Snowballs. I think we had higher expectations than we were able to deliver today...

We were distracted by the heartbreaking news that my cousin lost her 27 year old son last night. Three deaths close to us since October; a 21 year old, a 26 year old, and now a 27 year old. The last one left behind a 10 year old daughter... When will it end?

So we measured, mixed, and baked, but our hearts were elsewhere. We were aching for our cousin and her family as Christmas grew another year sadder. And I practiced using my new camera lens and light scoop. How about that sleepy grandson of mine?  My sister's dog decided to hide after I took his picture. Literally took off into the other room. The snowmen on the shelf were more than happy to smile and cooperate. I think I like them.

Cookies or Nothing

I have nothing to write... and I find that sad.

Oh, wait! Maybe I do... My Hannah Girl called this morning looking for cookie cutters so they could decorate cutouts with her niece, nephew, and little brother in law. I asked if she had sprinkles. She didn't. I asked if she had cookie sheets. Umm... I asked if she had powdered sugar. She planned on stopping at the store one the way home. I asked if she might happen to want a batch of cutout cookie dough from my basement freezer. (I had 2 bags.) She thought having ready-made cookie dough would be a big plus.

I packed a bag. Powdered sugar, food coloring, sprinkles. Cookies cutters, baking sheets, hand mixer. Frozen cookie dough and directions. On my way to work, while Hannah was babysitting, I stopped at her house and left her all the supplies I thought she would need. I haven't seen any pictures, so you get my cookie pictures, from last year, because I can't find her last year's cookie pictures.

On Thursday I will roll and cut my own cookies. Perhaps I will find a child or two to help me decorate. I think I know a few who might be willing.

Have a Cookie?

Here they are, Erin...

Molasses Cookies (my favorite)

3/4 c shortening (I used part butter)
1/4 c molasses
1 egg
1 c sugar
2 t baking soda
2 c flour
1/2 t gr. ginger
1/2 t gr cloves
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt

Melt shortening in 3-4 qt saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and cool. Add sugar, molasses, and egg. Beat well. Sift together dry ingredients. Add to first mixture. Mix well. Chill. Form into ball and roll in granulated sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet (or parchment paper) 2" apart. Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.

Note: I add another 1/2 c flour to my dough because, unlike my mother's perfect, thick and chewy molasses cookies, mine typically want to spread out and be flat little pancakes.

Cookie Monsters

My imagination tells me I have a lot more patience than I actually do. Or maybe I have more than I imagine... I always imagine neat and mostly settled cookie frosting parties with me patient and calm. Ha!

I spent a couple hours rolling, cutting, and baking cutout cookies yesterday afternoon. Today, after lunch, I had four cookie decorators helping me frost and sprinkle cookies. Emily is 11. She does a neat and tidy job with minimal finger licking and "sensible" sparkle sprinkling. The others?  Well, let's just say it was an experience to remember. ha ha!

I doled out equal amounts of cookies (trees, stockings, candy canes, snowmen, bells, horses, and wreaths) and let them have at it with the frosting and toppers. I try hard not to interfere, even though it's next to impossible. I want these little people to remember the fun of decorating cookies, not a grumpy grandma. Frosting washes up, sprinkles can be vacuumed, and licking knives and fingers probably won't cause any lasting damage.

They're sugared up and riled now, not to mention tired. I've scrubbed the table, tossed sticky paper towels in the trash, and piled the lovely treats onto paper plates. They now await transport. In my kitchen a pile of unfrosted treats remain. Maybe I'll have another go with a different bunch of kids, or maybe I'll frost a few of my own. Maybe. Maybe after I vacuum those stray sprinkles off the dining room floor.

Cooking Up Something Good

I managed to get through the day with three children without feeling like a crazed lunatic. Perhaps the knowledge of wild hormones has helped. There was still fighting, yelling, and biting, but at least I wasn't doing it. ha ha!

Rice Crispy Cookies were on the schedule today.

 Those backyard bonfires of summer left us with an abundant supply of marshmallows. We made two batches of cookies, I sent an unopened bag home with the kids, and I still have three bags left. Maybe one day a few of them will end up in a cup of hot chocolate or some No-Bake Cookies.

Tomorrow we're taking a drive to find Uncle Joe and bring him home for the weekend. We're packing a lunch and we might even stop at Dunkin Donuts on the way home.

Horse Cookies

A few little cookies we decorated. (See? I can have fun. And there were Christmas carols too.) Hannah gave the horses manes and tails, and then she put a halter on them because she knows how to do that. :0)

I think the next batch will be all horses and no stars or snowmen. (okay, maybe just one or two trees... Maybe we can make some darker colors and turn a few horses into Appaloosas and painted ponies. Maybe we can decorate their halters with red and green and give them blazin' saddles...

Oh the possibilities!

Making Pie... Kind of

Today I frosted my "pie" cookies and I have to admit, I am pleased. Hannah helped me get the pumpkin color just right and tomorrow we will have pumpkin pie and pumpkin pie cookies. Hopefully this guarantees leftovers because we all know how yummy pumpkin pie is for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving.

These little "pies" turned out so nice that I am actually looking forward to using this method of frosting Christmas cookies. Maybe I have found an outlet for my "inner artist" after all. Now if only I can keep from feeding the monster (the cookie monster) that is also within. "Down, Monster! Down!"

I is for Instead

I is for instead.

I thought my grandchildren were coming over today, all of them, but instead I received a call from Bethany who informed me Josh was ill.  Josh and Jake would not be coming over. Instead of five grandchildren there would be three. I decided to ready the coffee maker and bake cookies in anticipation of their arrival around eleven o'clock. At 10:30 I pushed the button to start brewing the coffee I would share with my daughter in law. Instead, the phone rang at 10:40 am. On the other end was Leta who had decided if Bethany couldn't come, then perhaps, if it was okay, she come later in the afternoon instead, around 4 pm, on her way to dinner at her dad's house. By then my house will be full of school children and Mom will be gone with Rachel to visit my brother. It will not be quite the visit I had envisioned. It will be something else instead. (It turned out fine in the end. Busy, but still fun.)

I was disappointed with the change of plans, but instead of sulking, I decided to ice the cookies. Aren't they pretty? I was going to share, but maybe I'll eat them instead. ;)

PS. I did not eat the cookies. I gave them to children instead.

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More Adventures in Baking

Today I made more Boston Brown Bread and a batch of Chocolate Drop Cookies. Have I told you how much I love parchment paper? Well this afternoon I found a reason not to like it. (And here I thought I'd learned this lesson already. Well, that was a long time ago. Perhaps I just needed a refresher course...)

I'd already baked two cookies sheets and was putting the third into the oven. Slightly distracted by the chicken cooking on the stove, I didn't pay enough attention to my tray of cookies. I held it at an angle and the paper, cookies and all, slid right off the cookie sheet and into the bottom of the oven. Did you know parchment paper catches fire when it touches glowing oven coils? I blew at the flames but they didn't want to go out. "You can't put it out that way," said Hannah.

"And just how would you do it?" I asked.

"You have to smack it," she answered. And so I smacked it, twice, with my potholder, and the flames were gone. I looked at the burned paper and melting cookie dough... I decided to plop the entire thing back on the cookie sheet, unfold the parchment paper, and bake it anyway.

They don't look quite like the others, but they still taste good. Maybe they'll still be pretty with white frosting and sprinkles.

(Do I need to tell you My Darling laughed when he heard I tried to blow out the flames?)

Cookie Trouble

I've been doing a little work on my Christmas goodies. On Saturday evening I made two batches of toffee and this morning I baked Pfeffernusse Cookies. They are a spicy little molasses cookie that is rolled in powdered sugar, one of Mom's favorites. I've learned that I can save time and sugar by tossing the slightly warm treats and sugar inside a ziplock bag. I used a gallon size bag and added each sheetful as they cooled. I was just able to fit all the cookies inside the bag. As I rolled the bag about in my hands, checking to see they were all coated, the bag popped open and the cookies tumbled out. I let out a scream and heaved myself toward the counter.

All of the cookies had been saved, but the tummy of my dark, blue turtleneck sweater was graced with an ample amount of powdery sweetness. "And I just finished all the laundry," I remarked to Hannah.


She laughed. "You should have been wearing your apron," she told me. Ha ha! She was right.

New Cookies!

Every once in a while it's fun to try something new. There are always new recipes, but it's not often I come upon one I like and have all the makings for. Today I stirred up a batch of Cardamom Snaps, a new twist on the old molasses cookies. I have to say, Molasses Cookies have always been a favorite... Whenever I roll the balls of dough in a bowl of sugar, I am instantly transported back to my mother's kitchen where she was always willing to let me help in one way or another. I dumped ingredients and stirred until my arm ached. Mom rolled the dough into balls and dropped them into the sugar. I got to rolled them about until they were covered, and back in those days there was a window in the oven door and the inside lit up so I could watch the baking process. Anticipation is half the fun.

Since I am doing my best to stay gluten free, I didn't taste anymore then a very small piece broken from the edge of one cookie. Cardamom is somewhat new to me (I bought it to mix up some apple pie spice) and I love how it smells. So far everyone has said the cookies are very good. Rocky's dad said they had a "bright" taste and James says they just might be a new favorite. And since I think they smell wonderful that makes them all the more worth making.

You can find the recipe here- Cardamom Snaps

Pumpkin Cookies

I should have made cookies much earlier in October, but first I was too busy taking autumn photos and then we were outside playing in the leaves instead. Oh, and I was making pie the other days. It must have been something about that hurricane, or maybe that jack-o-lantern that Hannah carved on Monday night, because on Wednesday  I really got thinking on cutout cookies.

Although the cookies were cut and baked on Wednesday, the frosting wasn't stirred up until this afternoon. I picked the right day because there were four eager kids here to frost and decorate after school. After dying the icing green and orange, and filling a few small bowls with candy corns and chocolate chips, we set to work.

I found my newer charges really enjoy this kind of activity, especially when they get to take the cookies home afterward. It is a good thing because the holidays are coming and this will give me a great excuse to whip up some more cookies.

In case you are wonder- ing, I did get in on the fun too. I even ate half of one cookie with a little bit of ice cream this evening. And, I walked a mile on the treadmill too. It's back home where it belongs and I intend to take full advantage of it and let My Darling know I'm grateful for it's return.

O is for Oreo

"Cause a kid'll eat the middle of an Oreo first, and save the chocolate cookie outside for last."

O is for Oreo. The Oreo Cookie is celebrating its 100th birthday this year and that makes it a perfect candidate for the letter O!

Oreo has come a long way since its humble beginning in 1912. Or maybe it was not such a humble beginning... Oreo cookies, once known as the "Oreo Biscuit", were originally sold as an imitation of the Hydrox cookie which was made by Sunshine. (Sunshine made those yummy Vienna Fingers I loved so much too.) And here I always assumed Sunshine was the copycat.

When I was a kid (a mere 40 years ago), Oreo came in just one flavor, though I do remember the introduction of Double Stuf. Since then there have been all kinds of fun flavors and colors starting with the introduction of Double Stuf in 1975. We have been known to purchase Cool Mint Oreos, and on occasion the Golden variety. I really liked the Birthday Cake Oreos that came out in time for the 100th birthday celebration, and I will be on the lookout for more new flavors because I rather enjoyed the Berry Burst Ice Cream flavor too.

So Happy 100th Birthday to Oreo Cream Sandwich Cookies! 

Thanks for being part of our childhood and thanks for your participation in ABC Wednesday!!!

To see the other participants in the new round of ABC Wednesday, click here!

Haha! I found the Oreo song!!!

Happy Birthday Oreos!

My aunt Margie came to visit Mom yesterday, and as is her custom, brought us a treat. This time it was a bag of Oreo cookies. I thought perhaps we should save the unopened package until the batch of snicker-doodles I made was gone, but My Darling loves Oreos and so he opened the package.

These, unknown to me, were special Oreo cookies, Birthday Cake Oreos! And right on the Oreo Cookie's 100th birthday!!!

I have decided that I like Birthday Cake Oreos better than the original, but James still likes the original Oreos best. I looked for some more in the grocery store tonight, but those Birthday Cake Oreos were all sold out. I guess there must have been a lot of people celebrating yesterday! I'll have to check again next time and then hide the package!

It Can't Be Christmas

How can Christmas be coming in four short days when my family is falling apart? Why has my son chosen to stir up a ruckus on top of a tragedy? Why would my oldest son want to drive seventeen hours home to this?

I am emotionally and mentally drained, stretched to the limit. I don't think there is much hope of salvaging this Christmas...  but at least there are cookies.

Cake Mix Cookies

I finally made those cookies I've been dreaming of, dark chocolate Cake Mix Cookies. (And this after banana nut muffins this morning...) Several years back my blog friend Judi posted the recipe. Cake mixes were on sale last week and I picked up a dark chocolate one for just this occasion. Add two eggs and a half a cup of oil to one cake mix, roll in balls and bake at 350º for about 10 minutes. Instant cookies! And in any flavor you choose.

I don't typically bake because it's so hard not to indulge. Just to prove it I cheated and ate a few. They were yummy.

C is for Cookie

C is for Cookie! It's good enough for me! (I bet you were expecting something healthy like cantaloupe or cranberries...)

One of my favorite childhood memories is helping Mom make cookies. I got to dump, stir, sift, and grind walnuts. There was nothing better than a batch of warm cookies waiting on the counter.

Everyone loves cookies! My longtime favorite cookie is molasses, the kind rolled in sugar with crinkles, or cracks, on top. Oatmeal is another favorite, the chewy kind with raisins and a little coconut baked in. I can almost believe they are good for me! Peanut butter cookies are great to make with small children who like to criss-cross the tops with a fork. Of course we like cut-out sugar cookies at the holidays and sit around the table frosting them and sprinkling them with colored sugar, jimmies, or non-pareils. But everyone's most favorite cookie of all is the chocolate chip cookie. That needs no explanation. Would you like a glass of milk with that?

Click here for more of ABC Wednesday Round 8.

Cookies

Tonight I baked my second batch of cutout cookies. If I can find some powdered sugar and sprinkles maybe tomorrow I will sit down and frost cookies with my little people. The batch I baked on Monday is gone already and, unbelievably, I did not eat one. I have been tempted by both cookie and dough, but thus far have been able to resist. I pray I can hold out but I know it won't be easy. Thankfully, I found a recipe for gluten-free gingerbread cookies online and I think I just might have all the ingredients. (Yes, I am playing that gluten-free game again...)

Winter is putting us into the deep freeze. It is presently about 10 degrees Fahrenheit with fluffy white snow on the side. The remaining blades of grass poking through the snow disappeared sometime this afternoon. Jazz continues to struggle and is limping quite badly. She uses her nose as a fourth leg when needed and slipped on the bottom step coming inside this afternoon. I think she'll not be spending quite so much time out in the snow this winter. Maybe I need to get her a pair of doggie boots...