Cinammony Goodness

I remember like it was yesterday, the day I first saw a Snickerdoodle. It was behind the glass at a Great American Cookie Company store. A little known fact about me is I am a cookie FIEND!! I LOVE COOKIES....and am also VERY choosy about my cookies. No chips ahoy for me, thank you very much (though I do really like the Famous Amos Chocolate Chip with Pecan cookies).

Back before I began baking, I would INDULGE in GACC for cookie fixes. They were oh so soft and yummy.

Anyway, I remember seeing this Snickerdoodle and thinking to myself...what is that? I had never heard of that before and pondered what it could be. It didn't look like a snickers.....or a doodle. It was very odd and I always chose to go with a good old standby (chocolate chip, chocolate chip with pecans, peanut butter, double fudge, etc.). I was unwilling to gamble my cookie money on an unknown cookie.

One day, though, I could stand it no longer. I MUST try that cookie. I had to find out what a Snickerdoodle tasted like. I requested the cookie and paid for it. I sat on a bench to tentaviley try this cookie that had haunted me so.

I took a bite...a small one....and began to taste this unknown blend of cookie deliciousness. My eyes popped wide and I had to try a bigger bite to see if my mouth deceived me, but no...it hadn't. This was just about the best cookie I had ever had!! It was cinammon and butter melded together in cookie form and it was WONDERFUL!! I could hardly believe it.

In the years since, my excitement level has changed. It has become a staple in this house...the snickerdoodle. My kids both LOVE them....though my husband is not so keen (but then he likes white chocolate macadamia nut cookies....bleh). A friend gave me a recipe that is INCREDIBLE and in recent years store brand break and bake cookies have had snickerdoodles...which are YUM-O.

Imagine my surprise a couple weeks ago when I happened upon a blog that had snickerdoodle MUFFINS as one of their many recipes. MUFFINS?!! I declared!! I knew it must be tried...so one morning, I hauled out my KitchenAid (*sigh* A pause in honor of the blessed machine I got for Christmas) and whipped up some muffins. Whoa MAMA...these were good. Were they better than BLUEBERRY muffins or BANANA NUT muffins....no...but they were still good.

Than I saw a recipe for Snickerdoodle BLONDIES. This looked promising, so I bookmarked the recipe and waited for the right day to whip some up. Today was that day and I am now a blondie fan. A dessert BAR that has NO CHOCOLATE and it reaches near the top of my all-time favorite dessert recipes!! It was INCREDIBLE...everything you want in a snickerdoodle, but in BAR form. What an amazing world we live in...

So, I still do not know where the name, Snickerdoodle, comes from...maybe I will wikipedia it. I do not know how my waist line will survive the next couple days of snacking on the 2 sticks of butter, cinamonny sweet goodness....but what can you do!??!!!

And that is my Snickerdoodle story. It has been a long road of mystery and intrigue followed be a lifelong romance between me and the cinammon. I cannot leave this be without sharing with you this wonderful recipe. Indulge in it...fret about it later. Or just take that dog on an extra long walk after.

Here is the recipe.

Dogs and work hours and tonsils, oh my

This summer has been our busiest and craziest yet. I could not imagine squeezing in a summer vacation into everything else. It is nuts and only seems to get nutsier (yes, I am aware that is not a word, but it works!!).

We have been to Splashtown a bunch...maybe not as much as we used to in previous years, but only cause it is either too rainy or too busy to go. We have gone a lot and had fun when we have gone....Daniel can go on a couple of the bigger rides, but he is not fond of the dark ones...he'd rather have the sun shining.

Speaking of Daniel, he is really learning to swim. He can swim like a fish underwater. He struggles swimming with his head above water, but he keeps trying. He is also learning to read and really trying hard. The English language is SO HARD and makes SO little sense. An a sounds like ah, but some time sounds like a. Two o's together make a oooooo sound. No wonder kids are not reading on their level...especially hard teaching them in Texas where we already drawl our letters together so bad...hard to pick up on those phonetic sounds when the sounds all run together.

Sierra is having surgery tomorrow. She has had 2 bouts of strep throat this year as well as chronic throat pain as well as snoring and restless sleep. So, the docs all agree that her tonsils and adenoids need to come out. We are VERY excited...we look forward to a better quality of life for her, though she is effectively using up all our Flex Spending account. lol It's why we have it and worth every penny!!

Matt has never worked more hours than he has in the past few months. He sometimes does not come home until close to 9 pm. He is tired and a bit grumpy, but he gets paid time and a half for those overtime hours!! His company got bought out by another company today...while Matt thinks it is no big deal, I, of course, worry. I trust his instinct and he is there, he knows all the details. I just hope he and other employees will not be laid off!!

We got a dog a few weeks ago, a husky. His name is Rocky and he is INCREDIBLE!!! We love him so much and he provides great fun!! However, he is destructive and today was the last straw...we have to crate him!!! *sigh* I hate crating...but we have to protect our belongings and do not want to become bitter at him.

Well, long day (Splashtown and than dinner with friends), I must go to sleep...glorious sleep!!