chocolate peppermint thumbprint cookies

Well, I managed to make it home from Jersey, though running an errand in Queens on the way back did almost end our journey in a sizable snowbank.

But I'm home safe in time for mother nature to dump more freezing rain and snow on us in two days. Think maybe it's January?

Time has taught me the best thing to do in preparation for a snowstorm is stock up on canned items, make sure your thickest socks and sweatpants are clean, and have at least one type of cookie hoarded in your kitchen. These adorable little delights are a fun twist on a classic cookie, and since they're so quick and simple, it's a perfect recipe to make with kids on a snow day.

Incidentally, having this recipe in your arsenal is a perfect excuse for always keeping Junior Mints in the house, which is never a bad thing.

1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup sugar
30  Junior Mints

      Preheat oven to 350 F. Sift together flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda. In a separate bowl, blend together oil, milk, vanilla and sugar til completely combined. Add dry ingredients in 3 additions, and once completely blended it should be thick enough to roll into balls. Roll into 30 balls and place on lined cookie sheet. Bake for 6 minutes, then remove from oven and using a small metal measuring spoon (1/2 or 1/4 tsp works best), indent the middle to make the thumbprint. Place a Junior Mint in each indentation and return to the oven for 6 more minutes. Remove and let cool on the cookie sheet before moving to a rack and cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

looks like a snow day

I can currently only barely make out the buildings across the street from the apartment I'm at in Jersey City. While it's really gorgeous, and I'm pretty pumped that I'm here, with my car nicely parked in the garage rather than upstate, where I'd have the lovely task of digging it out, I also can no longer deny the fact that I'm probably not making it home tomorrow.

Oh well. We've got tea and cocoa to last about 8 years, and a liquor store on the ground floor, so I'll make due.

Incidentally, here's the regular view:

Not too shabby, right? While I'm not about to move here, I'm definitely warming up to Jersey City.

Hope everyone is safe and warm during this mess!

it really IS the little things

My mother has instilled in me many life lessons over the years, and they're hard-wired into my head at this point. Clean the kitchen as you cook. Il faut souffrir pour être belle. Moisturize. Stretch. It's bad luck to put shoes on the table. If you're thirsty you're already dehydrated. And so forth. Though that second one is in jest. Mostly.

But one of her instructions that has firmly stuck with me is to never underestimate the pure magic and luxury that is having a programmable coffee pot right in your bedroom. 

And Jo, unsurprisingly, was not mistaken. If I can only give you one suggestion to make the whole of 2014 a good year, it would be to buy a coffee pot immediately. Or just move the one from your kitchen. It's astonishing how much joy I get each morning when I turn off my alarm and hear the gentle trickle of lovely caffeine from the corner. It's never too early in the day to have hot coffee in your bloodstream, and what better to entice you from your bed on an awful January morning?

If I can find a way to have my oatmeal ready when I wake up, too, then I might just become a morning person after all.

Happy waking up!

happiest of new years!

Source

As each year always is, 2013 was chock full of ups and downs, and I can't say I'm sad to see it go. But rather than dwell on the past, I'm glad to look to the future of 2014 and ring in the new year with hope and happiness!

May your night be filled with tasty champagne and fantastic friends!

Happy 2014!

Northern Ireland, New Year's Day 2013