you're welcome.

Brace yourself.  I am about to share with you perhaps the greatest cookie recipe ever to have existed.  While it is not entirely my own, I take credit for the major improvements that made these cookies so amazing.

I'd also like to thank Bart Devon for taking such lovely photos.  The cookies are awesome, but I would not have been able to display their morsels in quite the same way without him.

Here is the recipe:

1c. butter, softened
1c. white sugar
1c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2t. vanilla extract
Splash of almond extract
2c. all-purpose flour
1c. blended oatmeal
1t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 c. chocolate chips
1c. chopped nuts

Directions:

• Cream together the butter with the white and brown sugar 
• Beat in the eggs one at a time, as well as the vanilla and almond extract
• Dissolve the baking soda in the hot water, and add this with the salt
• Stir in the flour, oatmeal, chocolate chips, and nuts
• Bake at 350, until edges are browned and tops look just firm enough

Now we really like coconut, and the batch we made today had some in it - which was delicious.  Your prerogative, though. 

This is what your batter should look like:

(The batter tastes great without being baked too... but for those of you weak enough to contract Salmonella or E. coli poisoning, I wouldn't suggest it due to the raw eggs.)

You can make them whatever size you like, although I prefer larger cookies because it keeps me from eating more than one... at least in theory.

This is the finished product, any artistic flair in the shot courtesy of Mr. Devon:

(What a lovely platter these cookies are on!)

Golden brown, gooey in the center, and completely satisfying.  When you try the recipe, love notes can be sent to my P.O. Box : )

Listen to "New Slang" by The Shins.

take back vermont

I've been meaning to update this for a while now, but seem to have misplaced the cord to my camera and am therefore unable to display any photos of my recent accomplishments.  I've had some great baking successes as of late, and as soon as I find that damn cord they'll be displayed for all of you interested in this blog.  As a teaser, I'll say I baked some of the best chocolate chips cookies ever... recipe to follow.

Now there is something else I've been wanting to discuss here, on a far less (or far more, depending on what you're into) domestic note.  Every Tuesday and Thursday I drive over to Rutland to intern, and in general I really enjoy the drive.  I leave before 7:00 am, and the early morning light, regardless of the time of year, has always been something that really resonates with me.  There's a feeling about being up that early that just makes me feel a little warmer, and a little more content with the state of things.  This is all well and good - but it's not the point I'm trying to make.

Before I get to Killington, I go through a small village called Pittsfield.  There isn't a lot TO Pittsfield really, just a gas station, a large farm, and some other random small businesses.  There's also a gigantic mansion on one side of the road, but I don't care to dignify that asshole's choice of property development, so he can go f*!k himself.  Now among these little shops, there is something else that always strikes me.  On the right hand side, just as you enter the center of town, is a large, hand painted wooden sign that reads "GUNS WANTED."  I have a photo of this sign, but like I said I have no camera cord and therefore cannot show you just how big this sign is.  To give you an idea though, I googled "GUNS WANTED," and this is what I came up with:

(Aside from this business owner's confusion over whether they are open or closed, this pretty much captures the essence of the sign I'm referring to. ) 

I'd like to state for the record that I have no particular position over the Second Amendment, and have absolutely no desire to keep anyone from their constitutional right to bear arms.  However, I do have some issues with these blatant requests for firearms displayed willy-nilly all over the great state of Green Mountains.

First of all, I can't help but get the feeling that there is some crazy underground militia gathering somewhere plotting out when to finally attack Canada.  Don't get me wrong, the Canadians would totally deserve it, but I have no formal combat training and it makes me nervous to imagine myself in the middle of an unanticipated war.  I didn't sign up for this folks.

Second, why the hell are you collecting guns?  I could see some kind of trading business going on, in which case the sign should read, "GUNS FOR TRADE," or "GUN SWAP," or some variation of that message.  Did these folks just never take an english class in high school?  Are they really, really bad at marketing?  Or, as I obviously am assuming, are they arms dealers?  All of these options make uncomfortable, to say the least.

Now there are obviously a variety of things that made me uncomfortable with this sign.  As I said, I drive by it often, and always think about what they could possibly be up to.  But today, it finally dawned on me.  Perhaps they aren't really collecting guns after all... perhaps they just put up the ugliest, most obnoxious sign they possibly could to piss off the asshole who built his mansion right in the center of town.  

So keep rocking it Mr. Fake Arms Dealer.  Your sign offends me, but not nearly as much as your neighbors garish display of wealth.  

That's all for now.  Hopefully I'll find that cord this week and get to post photos of my delicious treats... until then, stay classy.

Listen to "Joan Jett of Arc" by Clem Snide.