The Joy of Blogging

Ah the joys of writing, especially a blog.  I was never very comfortable with keeping a daily journal.  It always felt so, candid, I suppose is a good word.  Well, needless to say, this blog is not going to be a whingey dairy, except on occasion during my introductions, and will focus on topics such as cooking, gardening, fitness and my horrible addiction to cosplay and fanfiction...er writing, yeah fiction writing....

Anyway, this week I will be setting up my schedule to start my cooking and gardening sections.  My fitness is a bit spotty right now since I'm a swimmer and have no pool.  I will be walking for a while.  More to come in this informal setting.  But I will not leave you hanging, I will give you a cookie recipe. This recipe comes from one of my college colleagues, we shall call her Dr. Juju Giggles for our purposes.  These are some of the best holidayesque cookies.  Why holidayesque?  Well, I'm not one for  religious festivals, but I totally understand the family time and thankfulness for having people who actually care about you in your life.  These sugar and spice cookies are perfect for sharing, therefore make a tasty addition for any gathering.  No matter what you believe, we all have tastebuds.

As a warning, these are not conclusive to a healthy diet and are more of an indulgent treat.  If you are suffer from Celiac disease, abstaining from sugar or vegan, this recipe will not be good for you.  These are vegetarian however, so if you are looking for something to satisfy your sweet tooth during your transition from omnivore to well pre-herbivore, you can rest assured there is a lack of animal flesh.  Anyway, before we get into that topic of potentially diverse opinions, may I present Dr. Juju Giggles Sugar and Spice Cookies!

Dr. Juju Giggles Sugar and Spice Cookies

1 cup brown sugar

¾ cup Crsico

¼ cup molasses

1 egg

2 & ¼ cup flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. cloves (or nutmeg if, like me, you hate cloves)

1 tsp ginger

¼ tsp. salt

granulated sugar (for rolling)

Combine brown sugar, Crisco, molasses and egg in any fashion you see fit. I am poor and unmarried so I have no fancy mixer, I use a fork since it is a wonderful multipurpose tool. Stir in flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt until absolutely combined and a rich nut brown color.

Cover your concoction and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. These little beauties sat over night, and turned out ok, but that could also be a reason for the off flavor, (however the Crisco being old is more likely).

When removed from the fridge, pinch and shape into 1-inch balls. Roll generously in granulated sugar. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet, or on parchment paper covered cookie sheet if you have it. Bake at 375* until lightly browned.

Now these cookies already are very brown, so a good way to tell of their doneness is to set the timer for 7 minutes (they may need longer) and check for with the tops of the cookies show cracking. At this stage they need to be removed from the oven. I let them cool on the cookie sheet, but if you have the cookie cooling racks, by all means remove the cookies to those after they have set for a minute or two.