I repeated last year’s easy, delicious end-of-the-year gifts today… These amazing Monster Cookies with a cute little “thank you” tag. This is a Taste of Home recipe, and I can’t imagine a better monster cookie. Yum!
Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1-1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup M&M’s
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup salted peanuts
2 cups all-purpose flour
Directions:
In a large bowl, cream peanut butter, butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add baking soda and vanilla. Add oats, M&M’s, butterscotch chips and peanuts; let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in flour (the dough will be crumbly).
Shape 1/4 cupfuls into balls. Place on greased baking sheets, about nine cookies on each sheet. Gently flatten cookies. Bake at 325° for 15-18 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks. Yield: about 2-1/2 dozen.
Notes:
I decreased the oats by 1/2 cup and I used old fashioned instead of quick oats. Heaping 1/4 cup of dough, with M&M’s into top, spread slightly to be 3 to 4 inches across, for a total of 21 cookies. DELICIOUS!!
It turns out that there were actually two tornadoes that missed our house – an EF1 to the southeast of us and an EF2 just to the north of us (the one that went through Mountain Brook and Cahaba Heights that I posted pictures from earlier). Here is the official preliminary report from the weather service:
Tornado damage in our neighborhood (not our house)
Crazy dangerous weather here in Alabama today. Many people killed. Lots of damage. It came very close to our house, and I’ve written about it on my cycling blog since I commuted home and surveyed the damage from the tornado that just missed our house. http://toonecycling.wordpress.com/2011/04/27/tornado/
On my birthday last week, an unexpected package showed up at the front door. I had been notified that I would be receiving a product to review from DaySpring, and lo and behold, it arrived on the perfect day! What a gorgeous gift…
On the reverse of the necklace it says, “By the grace of God, I am what I am. -1 Cor. 15:10”
After 35 years, I feel like “grace” is the life motto God has given me. It covers all my sin, it strengthens weaknesses, it is the greatest gift I’ve been given, and the greatest gift I can offer. The verse I’ve come back to over and over in my life that seems to say everything I could possibly need to know is 2 Corinthians 9:8: “And God is able to make all grace abound so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound for every good work.”
So for this beautiful jewelry set to arrive on my birthday just took my breath away. Such grace! It is GORGEOUS! I’ve worn the bracelet every day, and I’ve already gotten several compliments on it. The set also includes the delicate earrings and the adjustable necklace. I absolutely LOVE IT!
Thank you, DaySpring, for allowing me the chance to review one of your quality products. What a perfectly timed birthday gift to remember the greatest GRACE!
What an amazing day, what a grace-filled 35 years! Thank you, Lord, for blessings too numerous to count.
* watching from the hallway, spying little ones quietly going to find me in my bedroom, carrying birthday bags
* little ones bursting with birthday love
* homemade chocolate doughnuts, warm from the oven, leaving powdered sweetness all over us
* birthday flowers from mom (and Brian)
* helping at Analise’s school
* errands with my patient chattery little buddy, capped off with a little frozen yogurt and a lot of toppings
* a quiet, delicious steak dinner with my love, my best friend
Yesterday, I decided to take the weekend off from racing to enjoy the final bit of Spring Break. We had a great adventure out at Mount Cheaha. I biked from Birmingham to Cheaha, and Kristine drove the kids out there to meet me for a short hike, dinner, and then a drive home together.
Earlier in the week, we had ridden down to the La Crosse field to try out the balsa wood airplanes that Papa Dale had sent us. After the warning in the instruction manual, we were thinking that we might need to find an abandoned run-way. The plane did take off pretty fast. Check out the video below:
Friday night, Lech and Ava came to spend the night with us. Saturday night, Kristine took the kids over to spend the night with Lauren and Anna while Lennie and I traveled down to St Francisville, Louisiana to race Rouge Roubaix. Check out the pictures and videos on our blog (if you are reading on facebook).
First on the menu Saturday morning was a trip through the woods to the Rocky Ridge playground. Kristine got this great picture of Analise and Josiah with Lech and Ava. Walking through the woods to the Rocky Ridge playground.
Analise and Josiah had two friends from church (Lech and Eva) spend the night tonight. What fun adventures we had! We walked over through the woods to pick up Analise from school. The “river” formed by the run-off from the heavy rain a couple days ago was a big hit. Also, the beautiful spring flowers were blooming. And to top it all off, we got a surprise bunny rabbit to “bunnysit” for the weekend. Check out the photos and videos below – (if you are reading this on Facebook, then click here to view the video on our blog: http://www.toonesalive.com/blog/family/?p=2612)
