my milk toof

wrapping & shopping & kitties

It's here now, Christmas eve eve.
It brings four Christmases, lots of family, 11 days off, celebrating the new year! I can't wait!

exciting things are taking place today like...

wrapping all the gifts and taking care of this mess.

hanging out with these kitties.

can you see our tiny stockings in the back? 

we'll be filling those with treats for the first time.

and grocery shopping for tapasChristmas.

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve Eve

& enjoy the celebrations!

magical

dazzling

festive penguins

 festive penguins

a holiday evening

Last night I spent some of the evening writing holiday cards, sniffing this candle (my favorite scent!) and drinking egg nog.

dazzling / original




It was lovely.

 Lulu thought so too.

Do you send Christmas cards? Would you like to receive one? I'd love to do a swap!

on repeat:

pumpkin cookies!

You know Rachel Wilkerson's a-mazing pumpkin margaritas?!  If you've made them you'll remember!

Just so you know, you'll have a bunch of leftover pumpkin after you strain out what need for the margs. I didn't know what to do with it... but then I started seeing recipes for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Pumpkin* chocolate chip cookies? mmm. Sign me up!

I combined these three recipes... Streaming Gourmet's Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies / Just Bella's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies / Rachel's Pumpkin Up: Butterscotch Pumpkin Cookies. I'm not sure why I didn't just go with one (probably, because I wanted to feel bloggery. food blogger, with recipes and action shots, I. am. not. oh well), but the cookies are pretty fantastic so I'm not going to complain. 

Be sure to check out the recipes above and here is my varition!


WET INGREDIENTS
3/4 granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup canned pumpkin 
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 


DRY INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger

Add ins of your choice. Walnuts may be good. Today I did chocolate, butterscotch and white morsels!

 

INSTRUCTIONS
 
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add pumpkin and beat well. Then add eggs and beat well. Finally add vanilla and beat well.

3. Mix together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture, about 1/3 at a time and mix well after each addition. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spoon or spatula.

4. Spoon batter onto cookie sheets that have been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or lightly buttered. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Let sit for one minute after removing from oven. Then cool on wire racks.

SUBSTITUTIONS!:
NO EGGS?! 1/4 cup applesauce & 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
NO BAKING POWDER?! 1/4 teaspoon baking soda & 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

I'm taking these to our THIRD Annual Cookie Day at work! mmm. There will be all sorts of goodies. 


*I'd say 80% of the time I type pumpking.

 It happens to be a yummy fall beer.