What was I so busy doing you ask? I took 2 of our dogs to an agility trial! This is the second agility competition I've taken my dog Ellie to, and Kirby came along for the ride/moral support. Ellie was rotten at the last trial I took her to- as soon as the leash came off, she took off. Stinker. Needless to say I did not have high hopes for this trial- but she's never going to get better if we don't keep trying. We went Friday and Saturday- and Friday she was rotten- ran away and only did one obstacle. Saturday I expected the same- and it started out that way. She did one obstacle and ran off, but then came back- and did another obstacle! And another...I was so shocked I almost forgot the course!! She finished an entire course- I was so proud of her! We didn't get a qualifying score because we were over time, but she did so awesome. The second time I ran her- she did the entire course without even thinking about running off, and came home with a blue ribbon!! So very proud of my little stinker.
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| Photo by Maggie Fan Photography |
Anyway- that was a horribly long tangent but I had to brag about my fur kid! The real reason for this post is to bring you another week of Kim's Dare to DIY- this time cookies!
This sounded so much fun- a virtual cookie swap. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures to share of cookies that have been made recently in my house because I live with cookie monster. I kid you not- 4 dozen cookies last maybe 3 days in my house! Also, my husband is the baker in the family. I do bake a mean chocolate chip banana bread though. But I would like to at least share a cookie recipe for snickerdoodles- in my defense, my husband did just make these a week ago, but seriously they're long gone. These are my favorite cookies this time of year- the cinnamon makes the house smell so yummy and festive.
You can find the recipe here: Smitten Kitchen snickerdoodles (and if you don't read her blog you should!) but I will copy and paste it for you as well:
Makes three dozen 3 to 4-inch cookies. Varies by the size scoop you use.
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 stick or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed
2 large eggs
Preheat the oven to 400°, with one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.
Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine. At this point, chill the dough for an hour (or you can go overnight) before scooping it, because otherwise it is too difficult to scoop into balls and roll.
Once dough has chilled, in a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon. Use a small ice-cream scoop (or melon baller- depending on the size of cookie you want to make) to form balls of the dough, and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place about two inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets after five minutes. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about five minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack. Devour immediately.
Mmmmm- can't wait to see what everyone else shared for cookie recipes!! Also, stay tuned, because I am having my very first guest post on the blog, by my friend Kathleen!! She'll be sharing a really awesome DIY Christmas project she did this year- be sure to check back for that post!
