Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Never Fail Oatmeal


I'm getting anxious.

My husband's ship comes home this week!

When I'm like this I have to bake. I wanted something comfortable, warm, chewy and tasty. I just bought a new tub of oatmeal and decided to make a classic oatmeal cookie. I don't really care for raisins so I used dried cranberries. Oh boy, they were delicious. So delicious in fact that when I had some friends and their family over for my birthday the bag of cookies mysteriously disappeared.....

I found out the next day at dinner at my friends house that her mother was hiding them in her bedroom drawer.

I feel honored that someone would want to ration and reserve my cookies.

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
*adapted from the Quaker Oats Can

1/2 pound Parkay (2 sticks)
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. ap flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3 c. Quaker Oats Old Fashioned (uncooked)
1 c. dried cranberries

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat together Parkay and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.
3. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and mix well.
4. Stir in oats and cranberries and mix well.
5. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for about 1 minute on the cookie sheet.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Bort Cookies

We have had a constant downpour of rain since last weekend. It makes it difficult to run errands or stay motivated when its so wet outside. I don't let it dampen my spirits. I just bake :)

You may be wondering what Bort Cookies are. Trust me, it's a super long story as to why they are called Bort Cookies. It involves my cousin, my aunt, and the Simpson's. Instead of describe how the cookies got their name I'll just tell you that they are chocolate chip cookies.They are a famous family cookie. The trick is, only one person can make them properly, Bort (aka my Aunt JoAnn).

The lore of this cookie holds much fascination to our family since every time we make these cookies no two batches are the same and no batch tastes like Bort's. I have even had her on the phone before describing in great detail which steps she takes and how long she stirs.

We have just come to the conclusion that we are always missing an ingredient:

Bort's magical touch.

None of my batches taste bad, they just don't taste the same. She has some magical combination of the right water, the right oven, the right cookie tray, etc. I will not stop trying, and I'll continue to enjoy all the mistakes :)

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Magazine Art

I have been so inspired by others craftiness. Some days I think of myself as crafty. But when I look at how creative others can be I feel like I'm behind.

I was recently inspired by another and decided to do something with the massive pile of old magazine's and catalogs that seem to have taken over my bathroom. They just sort of get tossed into the basket until one day, that basket is too heavy to move.

I just hate throwing them away. Some I keep forever.

So I decided to recycle them. This is what I've done so far. I used some craft punches to punch out colorful flowers. I will be assembling them into something fantastic. But that's still in the works. For now, here's the wonderful colors I was able to extrapolate from my collection.

Monday, March 02, 2009

100th Post: Coffee Cup Cozie

I can't believe I've hit the 100 mark. I suppose I should be much farther along and not such a slacker. In honor of my 100th post I thought I'd make something.

I've been seeing lots of people making knit cozies for their coffee/tea cups and I thought I'd try my hand. Not my best work, but I'm still learning. It does keep your hands from burning if the cup is too hot. The pin is not my work, that is goshdarnknit and it's one of my favorite of her creations.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Glass Jar Project

I'm trying to re purpose all my trash. If I think that I might find another use for it, I don't throw it away. I've got a couple bags full of recyclable trash awaiting crafting. While searching for new crafting possibilities I came across this idea for turning glass jars into frames for your pictures. They look great up against a window or just on a desk.To see the original jars and the instructions for making your own, check out Design*Sponge.