Somewhere East of Life

I made cookies today. Tried out a new recipe, tweaked it as per usual, and they turned out pretty yummy. Not going to be my all time favorite chocolate chip cookie, but they're surprisingly light, and very soft.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies w/ Applesauce

Ingredients

½ cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup butter (softened)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats (or old fashioned)
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup chopped pecans


Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2. In a large bowl, cream together the applesauce, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Use 1/8 cup to measure spoonfuls.

3. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

I ended up cooking Christmas dinner again this year. We decided to forgo the traditional recipes and do something different. I cooked a roast pork loin, scalloped carrots, spinach salad, fresh french bread (which I actually made myself!!!), and then some chocolate cake.

The Errors
* The dressing recipe was bad. The ingredients would have made one yummy vinaigrette, but unfortunately it only made savory caramel.
* The french bread recipe lied when they said how much time it needed to rise. I didn't look closely enough at the beginning when planning my schedule. It turned out really good (if a bit misshapen).
* The pork roast recipe also lied about how much time it needed to cook. I cooked mine for twice what the recipe called for, but in the end it was super yummy.

Chocolate Overload
It was the chocolate cake that was so delicious. It's really super rich though. It's called Decadent Chocolate Fudge Cake. You cook up a box of devil's food cake. Then you make ganache (melted chocolate, cream, and butter). Chop up the devil's food cake into cubes, then use a mixer to mix it with the ganache. Then ya' freeze it for a bit and frost it with a bit of leftover ganache.

I've got a major chocolate hangover today (which is partially due to some major vertigo, but we're ignoring that). LOL

Speaking of chocolate, this was one of my gifts this year. Cracked me up!


...and now for something completely different!
Sometime later today I'll finally get a chance to start hooking up my new Wii. My friend is so excited for me to get it going so we can network on our games together. LOL We're so easily amused.

On the plus side, my sister was also enthused to find out we had one now so she's been making plans with my mother on what new games and gadgets we can get for it.

Off to forage for lunch, and then lazing around and thinking about potential gamage. Lord, but I do love Holidays. :D

Hubby brought home some sweets for the kiddos for tomorrow night. He opened the bag. I passed by the kitchen table and noticed this. Of course, I felt completely obligated to try out the candy just to make sure it's okay. It's bad for your health. I don't recommend it. Just send it all to me. I'll take care of your candy for you. Really.

Does anyone else besides me ever get the feeling your life is just biding your time in between frequent bouts of everything falling apart? Or maybe is just too much chocolate talking.