Cookies
I have spent the past year trying to make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. I had some from Whole Foods and they were amazing, but I haven't been able to duplicate them. I tried Martha Stewart, Food Network, various websites... all disappointing. And today, success. I got a recipe from a friend and tweaked it some. Perfection. Crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. So peanut buttery and a little bit of chocolate. My kitchen smells amazing right now, and it's time for a snack and some milk (very necessary with these). When they are all cool, I'll pack them up to share at work tomorrow. And in case any of you need some peanut buttery goodness, here is the recipe.
1 3/4 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar (light, dark, whatever. I used a mixture)
2 eggs
1 jar peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp honey
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter with sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and beat until creamy. Mix in peanut butter, vanilla, and honey.
In another bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add to peanut butter mixture a little at a time and mix until combined.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Form batter into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheet 1-2 inches apart. Bake at 350 until golden brown (10-15 minutes). Let cool on baking rack.
Some notes: I used my KitchenAid which did a great job creaming the butter and sugar. And it handles this batter really well since it gets very thick. My baking time varied based on what cookie sheet I used. The regular cookie sheet took longer, about 15 minutes. And my jelly roll pan took only 12 and the cookies stayed a little thicker. Still getting to know all of my equipment! I wound up with 5 dozens cookies, plenty to satisfy my craving and lots to share. Enjoy!
More Hogwarts Socks
The Hogwarts Sock Swap was such a great experience. My pal sent me the most amazing package. To start, all my goodies were tucked inside this cute box.
And what was inside? A pair of Ravenclaw socks (of course), a cute felted bowl, stitch markers, a sheep tape measure, a notebook (in suitable colors), and a whole set of DPNs. Awesome! I didn't get it in the picture, but the card was great. It has a scarf pattern on it... where did you find it?
Of course the best part is the socks. In film Ravenclaw colors, as requested, and they fit perfectly. I love the stitch pattern and the yarn. Thanks
Kathleen!
(Please don't judge me for the tacky linoleum. I know it's hideous.)
I've spent some time this month working on a new scarf that I am completely in love with. It the Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. Made in 2 skeins of Socks That Rock (shamelessly stolen from
another blogger... again, don't judge me). I spent forever at the BMFA page trying to pick 2 colorways and was frozen with indecision. What if the colors weren't accurate on my monitor? What if they looked horrible together once knitted? I basically chickened out and used the colors that Ashley did (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that). It looks awesome and I love the pattern. Can't wait for winter so I can wear it!
The upside of cleaning
is finding my camera. Woohoo! It was in a purse inside my suitcase shoved partially under a bed. Found during my deep cleaning freak out that preceded my family's visit. It was so much fun having them up here. I made it an opportunity to do some of the cool things available in the area. We spent time wandering the streets of the town, shopping and checking out art galleries. There's a great Dr. Seuss exhibit in one that I love. Then we headed to the
Eric Carle (of the Hungry Caterpillar) museum which was such fun. I loved those books. (Heck, who am I kidding? I still do!) I talked myself out of buying wonderful hardcover editions of The Secret Garden and A Little Princess, but I may have to go back and get them. They are reproductions of the first editions with wonderful illustrations. Then we headed to Mt. Tom where we went to the
Summit House at the top and took in the amazing view. We spent all day Sunday in the Berkshires at
Tanglewood listening to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It was a Gershwin review and I loved it. Such a fun weekend! But I must admit to some crying when they left. It so hard being 1000 miles away.
Now on to some knitting content. It's been a light rotation, and I spent it teaching another resident to knit. I was checking out my favorite blogs one day and came upon
this photo and Grace loved it. So I picked up some number 19 needles and a few hanks of alpaca, and we got started. A giant, purple, fluffy scarf. Pretty good for a first project. And she quickly cast on for another!
And now the promised Harry Potter socks. These are the Hufflepuff socks I knit for my pal. Everyone kept calling them the bumblebee socks, which they really are. But I like them anyway.
Next time, the Ravenclaw socks I received from my swap pal and a much loved WIP.
And I still can't find my camera. Seriously, my apartment is that unorganized right now. The upside is that my family is coming to visit this week so I'll be frantically cleaning for the next few days. I figure with all the cleaning and organizing I'm bound to find the stupid thing. I wonder what else I'll uncover. I found some sock yarn yesterday while cleaning the guest bedroom - it's really pretty too. Totally forgot I had it, so sad.
I received my
Dishrag Tag team's box on Friday and knit mine pretty quickly. Got almost the whole thing done while watching
Premonition on Friday night. (Weird movie and I was so unhappy with the ending. Disappointing since I'm usually a big Sandra Bullock fan.) Of course without a camera, there's no picture of my dishrag. But I used
this pattern. I liked the lace pattern but it would have looked better in a solid color. Also I completely forgot to put in the garter stitch border so the sides curled in a little and the pattern looked off center. When I noticed on Saturday I opted to go ahead and mail it to the next relayer and keep our team moving rather than start over and hold everyone up till the Monday mail. I'll have to knit Susan a do-over without the mistake.
