Saturday, February 5, 2011Easy Monster Cookies
In preparation for Alexis' birthday party, I went digging for treasure in the kitchen drawer that holds my various recipes. Some are written on note cards, some are computer-printed, and some are hastily scribbled on a scrap of paper. One of those hastily scribbled recipes was for Monster Cookies. When I found it, I very nearly screamed like a 12-year old girl after sniffing Justin Beiber's hair. I was WAY excited. They're easy and they're amazing.
Monster Cookies
1 stick softened butter
1 1/4 brown sugar
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 jar peanut butter (18 ounce)
2 teaspoons baking powder
5 cups oatmeal
1 cup plain M&Ms
1 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine butter, brown sugar, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add in the eggs, vanilla, salt, and peanut butter, mixing well. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
Drop by the heaping tablespoon onto cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before removing from cookie sheets.
Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies. They freeze really well, so if you have any self-restraint, you can freeze half of them to save for a day that you desperately need a cookie. Or two. Or ten.
A Frozen Moment
In my world, "Lunch break" is an oxymoron. There is nothing break-ish about what I do at lunch, nor is there anything lunch-ish about what I do when I break. It's a mad dash to accomplish all of those things that have to be done to keep a household running smoothly. Letters get mailed. Groceries are purchased. Errands are run.
I had already figured out that I could be in the store for seven minutes if I was to make it back to the office in time for a conference call. Just seven minutes to run in and grab those essentials that couldn't wait. I would have had more time, but there were big, fluffy white flakes falling from the sky. As they blanketed the ground and turned the city into a snowglobe, drivers everywhere slowed to a near stop. I love the snow; I don't love how people drive in it.
I parked and quickly scurried towards the door. Each flake that flittered to the ground was like a tick on the stop watch of life. I stomped on snow as it fell softly on the ground, silently cursing it for slowing everyone down. Didn't the snow realize it would be better if it waited until I was done running errands?
As I neared the door, I saw her. A little girl a bit older than Alexis walked slowly towards the grocery store, her eyes open wide as they marveled at the sky. Her long brown hair was decorated by a perfect crown of snowflakes. Her mouth was opened into a wide grin as she reached here and there, doing everything she could to catch as many snowflakes as possible.
I stopped and watched her. Her joy was like contagious rays of sunshine cutting through a cloudy sky. I smiled as she continued across the parking lot, fully entranced in her game.
It was, easily, the best 30 seconds of my day.
As the little girl and her mom entered the store, I felt a pang of sadness. Her mom had been rushing, nearly dragging the little girl in her urgency to get inside. She had missed the entire scene.
It's hard to have a bad day when you're catching snowflakes with your tongue. It's too bad life doesn't always afford us the time to realize it.
