Snickerdoodles

In spirit of the holidays (albeit a bit on the late side) I'm posting a recipe from my mother-in-law for Snickerdoodles.  I'd never eaten a snickerdoodle before, let alone baked one. Now, I have a new favorite cookie! Hope you enjoy! (Thanks Cyndi H.!)

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

3 C. Flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 C soft butter (2 sticks) at room temp.
1 1/2 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beaten first before adding
1/4 C milk
Cinnamon-Sugar mixture (for coating)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375° Sift dry ingredients into a medium bowl and set aside.
Put butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream well.
Stir in vanilla and eggs and cream well again.
Add the milk, stir.
Add dry ingredients to mixture, mix well, then cream all together well.
Roll one teaspoon of dough in a cinnamon-sugar mixture to fully coat and place on greased cookie sheet (use a sheet with little or no lip) and bake for 10-11 minutes. (time may vary from oven to oven)

Makes approx. 36 cookies.

High altitudes: increase flour by 1/4 Cup and oven temp to 380°

Tip: If you don't have soft, room temperature butter, but need it for a recipe and don't have time to wait for it to soften up, grate it with your cheese grater. Works wonders and it creams up in your recipe well. I did it with this recipe as well as others and it worked great!

Project & Photo of the Day

So, how did everyone do with the time change today?  We did ok, we woke up in plenty of time for church, but for some reason, we ended up running late anyway.  I don't know what happened.  I think there's a time displacement bubble in the shower, so that you get in and only spend a few minutes, but time outside of the shower-bubble goes faster and when you step out, it's been twice as long as you wanted/needed it to be.

Project of the Day:

Well, we had a very busy day today.  We had church, of course, but then we came home and I cooked a pork roast in the oven.  It turned out wonderful!  So yummy!  Lots of veggies.  I like to use the buttery golden potatoes, I sliced up two very large sweet onions, celery and threw in the last of my baby carrots.  Added water halfway up the side of the roast, added in a veggie bullion cube (I was out of broth.  I don't like using the cubes unless I have to.) I sliced up three garlic cloves and shoved them into the slits I'd cut in the top of the roast and then added the spices.  Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder (I find it helps to bring out the flavor of the fresh onions,) a pinch of marjoram and then I dusted the top of the roast with a bit of parmigiana cheese.  Weird?  I know it sounds like it, but it's good, trust me.  It turned out so yummy.  You didn't even need a knife!  The big dinner was my big project of the day.  That's usually the biggie on Sundays.  I like to cook a big meal and enjoy Family Home Evening.

However, I did also get on the computer and phone with a friend of mine to help her test out a couple virtual classrooms.

Photo of the Day:

Chocolate Ice Cream!  Don't judge me, he didn't get a lot.  But it was Family Home Evening and we decided for everyone to get a treat after a really good dinner.

On a personal note...

Oh my gosh, I can't believe it's been so long since I posted anything!  Life has gotten so ridiculously busy lately and I've not been feeling very well either.  This is definitely the LAST baby we have!  I forgot how exhausting pregnancy can be!  UGH.  And last time, I hardly had any nausea at all... this time around, however, is making up for all that.  And, of course, with "Baby Brain" I've been even more distracted than usual.  And don't even talk to me about St. Patrick's Day or Easter... holidays are just way overwhelming at the moment.  I'd love to decorate (omg I think we still have some random Christmas decorations up!) but it just takes too much energy.  Although, we might do Easter eggs.  I found some really cute ideas from one of my adventures on Pinterest!  And, just so you know, hard boiled cooked eggs come out better if you steam them!  Just ask Alton Brown of Good Eats.  (love his show!)  And check out his video here.

My laptop is still down and out, so I'm still using our son's laptop.  I can't wait to get mine up and running again.  Repair sessions have been sporadic.

I have been doing some more crocheting, though.  Hopefully I can get some pics up here soon.

 It's hard enough to try to get time to do anything these days, though, with an 18 month old running around like crazy!  He's so adorable, curious, smart, funny, and totally obstinate and exasperating!  LOL  He's definitely hit the "Terrible Twos" already.  He'll wake from a nap and just cry and scream like crazy and I have no idea why.  Usually he wants to eat immediately, so that might be part of it.  And the temper tantrums!  OMG! 

But then he does a complete 180 and is just so darned cute!  He asked the UPS guy yesterday, "How you doin'?"  Then told him "Bye" when he was walking away.  Now, how cute is that?!  And he loves to give fishy kisses and hugs all the time.  So, it makes all the temper tantrums and crying and screaming (mostly) worth it.  I'm amazed at how much I love that little guy.

And can you believe, we're doing it all over again?!?!  Yep, the little peanut is due Sept. 12th, 2012.  Hence, why I've not been feeling very well.  And that's also why I'm up in the middle of the night as well.  I've not been sleeping well at all. 

But something that I've noticed lately in the mornings are the sunrises.  They have been just beautiful lately.  And the birds singing in the morning.  For some reason, I've been noticing them more.  It's been a very nostalgic and very nature oriented pregnancy this time.  I think it was with the first baby, but this time around, my senses and emotions seem to be even more heightened.  It's definitely different this time around, that's for sure!

Anyway, I'm getting excited about Spring Cleaning that we're going to be doing next month.  We're hoping to have some yard sales as well, once we clear out a few ton of items.  Let's just say that we have a two-car garage and there's barely an open pathway from the door to the washer & dryer!  But I've got an idea for a system of getting stuff organized.  I'll let you know if it works or not.

As for all my projects, well.... they're still going, just going a lot slower than I'd like them to, due to the exhaustion from the pregnancy. 

Speaking of exhaustion......... Good night!