Cookie weekend

A few years ago Hubs and some of the guys went to a Bears game in Detroit. (If you are a Bears fan and do not want to spend a fortune on decent seats, this is a good deal. If you have a friend who lives in the 'burbs of Detroit, it's a even better deal.) With the guys out of town, the Annual Cookie Party was born. It's a mix of ladies night, movie night, and an excuse to bake and eat cookies until the sugar makes your teeth hurt. It has since evolved from a dozen cookies per person to a half dozen to bring something to share. Believe me, the evolution is good. No sugar coma and yet a successful night.

Yesterday was this year's cookie party. I brought out my default always amazing cookie recipe from Hershey's Cocoa: Easy Baking. It is a book I found years ago and I absolutely love it. The recipes are easy but everything I've made so far have been a hit. Plus is is one of those books with the cardboard pages like a little kids book so I can wipe it clean if I spill something on it. Now that I have ever spilled a single thing on it. It's more like multiple things.

I call them my double fudge cookies because I add extra cocoa powder. The batter ends up looking and tasting like brownie batter.



I think they look like brownie cookies as well.




Still warm quality control testing.




This batch ended up being topped with melted chocochips and the sugar snowflakes. The second were plain and a bit flatter since I melted the margarine more so. The batter ends up a little mushier when that happens but they still taste amazing.

This morning we woke up to snow. The animals always go wacky when it snows. The cats get super lazy in Bond's case or super snuggly in Frankie's case. Bond napped upstairs most of the day. Frankie tried to either sit on my lap or glared at me as I knitted. (He gets annoyed that the knitting is where he wants to nap.)

The dogs wanted to play outside in the snow. They did and then they wanted to play more inside.



Tug of war w Hubs.

The baby gate at the patio door is our attempt to not have the dogs run through the screen door. Cosmo has done it once already. The squirrels sit on the fence and taunt them.




Cosmo is worn out.



Molly wasn't and wanted to go outside and run around more.

Food wise, today was another slow cooker Sunday. With it being so cold lately, I've been wanting soup. I tried a new version of chicken soup today. I included rosemary and thyme as the base rather than basil and oregano. I had to tinker with it a bit since it went a bit mellow. A few dashes of black pepper and some crushed bay leaves later, it is working out well.