Snowshoeing!

Lew and I went on a hot date with Lew's sister Raney and her husband Ty. They took us snowshoeing up Parley's Canyon.

When we went, it was so smoggy in the valley. We really needed to see a bit of sunshine. Check out this tree. It forgot that it's winter and not fall.

The weather was perfect on top of the mountain. Well, almost. I like it in the low 90's, but the mid 50's felt good too.

Lew and I had never been snowshoeing before this. It was easier than I had imagined. I thought that it would be really awkward, but the actual snowshoes were light-weight and not very wide.

We both fell a few times, but there were no giant snowballs made out of our bodies, so I think we did pretty good. The snake-like road in the background is I-80 going up and down Parley's Canyon.

Ty goes hunting up here a lot. He was a good guide, telling us all the hot spots. Check out the mountain in the far distance. If you can see the haze at the base, that's Salt Lake valley.

This is Raney and Ty. I really like doing stuff with them. They are health nuts, who are fun and like to be adventurous. I want to be more like them when I grow up.

Another tree forgot what season it is.

On the way back down, Ty used the sled (butt) route to go down the hill.

Sweet Lew decided to sprint down the mountain. He didn't even fall once!

Lew and I strongly dislike, well, no,. We hate the winters and being stuck inside. We don't ski or snowboard. This snowshoeing stuff was pretty fun. I want to try another, longer, all day thing. Maybe stay in a yurt? Have a picnic? Winters still stink, but this makes it a little more tolerable.

Thanks Raney and Ty!

Cookie Friday- Double Chocolate Brownie Mini Chip Cookies

Today I was craving a little chocolate. Instead of getting a little, I got a whole lotta chocolate. This one comes from the website Picky-palate.com. Lew gave it a 9 out of 10. BINGO! Check out the ingredients...

1/2 c softened butter
1 c sugar
1 c sugar sour cream
3/4 c Prepared brownie batter
2 c flour
1 c cocoa powder
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
12 oz bag mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, sour cream and brownie batter.
Place flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Slowly add to mix. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes (mine took 13 minutes). Enjoy!

Cookie Friday- Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

Since the Butter cookies were a little eh, I made these the next day.
I got the recipe from the same book. They were pretty good. Lew gave them a 7.

1 c butter, softened
1/4 c sugar
3/4 brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 (4oz) pkg vanilla instant pudding mix (dry powder)
1 tsp. baking soda
2 1/4 c flour
2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate because semi-sweet tastes like crap)

Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, eggs and pudding mix.
In a separate bowl, mix together baking soda and flour and gently add to wet ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop dough onto cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes.

Cookie Friday- Browned Butter Cookies

I made these cookies a few weeks ago. If you like butter, this is a cookie for you. But you really have to be a butter lover. I had a difficult time eating butter for a week after, because the taste was too strong. I got this recipe from a book called 101 Gourmet Cookies for Everyone. Lew gave this cookie a 2 on a scale of 10. He even threw a few of them away. Unheard of!

Browned Butter Crinkles
2 sticks butter, softened
1 c sugar
3 egg yolks
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/3 cups flour
Browned Butter Frosting (later)

Beat butter and sugar together. Add egg yolks and salt, and then add soda and vanilla. Fold in flour. Stir until combined. form balls the size of walnuts. Chill dough balls for 1 hour in the refrigerator. Dip tops in sugar. Press flat with the bottom of a glass and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and let the cookies stand for 1 minute on the cookie sheet. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely. Frost.

Frosting
1 stick butter
4 c powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c heavy cream or more for right consistency

In a small skillet, brown butter over medium heat until golden brown flecks appear. Butter will become a little foamy. Stir occasionally to make butter cook evenly. remove from heat and cool slightly. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and cream. Beat on medium high until a acreamy texture to your liking forms. Spread onto cooled butter crinkles.

Happy New Years!

To celebrate the New Year we stuffed Zane in a box.

Well, he actually did that himself. He wanted to sleep in the box in Ruby's room.

Before we put the kids to bed we let off a few illegal fireworks that Uncle Joey had brought over. I used a slower shutter speed on this picture so it looks like it was not 10:30 at night. Cool yea?
Well, we shot off a few fireworks at a park as well. It was freezing A cold, so I just sat in the door way of the car. I don't know if it was because of the low temperatures, but the ashes from the fireworks did not fizzle out. And one landed on my head.
Lew teases me that I have a big melon, this proves it.
I started to pat my head searching for the flames.
None.
Thankfully.
My quick-thinker Ruby grabs a handful of snow and chucks it at my head.
I just lost a small handful of hair.
Don't laugh when you see me.

I've been reading this book. It has a lot of good little nuggets in it. Since it's the New Year I thought I would share one about endurance.

"As the environmentalist Yvon Chouinard said, "There's no difference between a pessimist who says, 'it's hopeless, so don't bother doing anything' and and optimist who says, 'Don't bother doing anything; it's going to turn out fine.' Either way, nothing happens." Resilience is the person who defies the odds. When he gets knocked down, he bounces right back, again and again.

Without resilience we wither and waste away. Resilience is something you are born with, but it needs to be fed to grow. And the best food for resilience is misfortune, challenge, and change. Think about it for a moment. If we bounce back from something easy, are we really resilient? What it can provide is the ability to see past the difficulty at hand Resilience develops undefeatable doggedness, persistence and perseverance to the end."- Chris Orwig

Rootbeer Float Cookies

I got a cookie book recipe from my mom-in-law for Christmas. This is a tasty recipe from there. I felt a little jipped because the picture in the book has root beer colored cookies and mine turned out tan. So if you want rich brown cookies, your gonna have to add some food coloring. Lew gave this cookie a 5.

Root Beer Float Cookies

3/4 c sugar

3/4 c brown sugar

1 c butter, softened

1/4 c milk

2 eggs

2 tbs. root beer flavoring/extract

4 c flour

pinch of salt

1 tsp. baking soda

Cream Glaze

Directions;

Cream together sugars and butter until light and fluffy. Add milk, eggs, and root beer extract. Stir to combine. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour. Then place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 (I had to do 13) minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Frost with cream glaze.

Cream Glaze;

2-3 Tbs cream (I ended up using about 10 to get a smoother consistency)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

gently whisk all ingredients until all lumps are gone. Drizzle over cooled cookies.

Peanut Butter, Banana and Honey Cookies

All the pictures of this cookies really sucked. Sorry.
On the Lew scale of cookie ratings this one got a 2 out of 10. 10 being the best. It has more of a cake like texture. Lew really likes more of a crisp cookie. I thought it wasn't too bad. I'd give it a 6. I got this recipe from a website twopeasandtheirpod.com It's a pretty good cooking website. Here you go...

Peanut Butter, Banana and Honey Cookies

1 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt.
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 tbs. unsalted butter. at room temp
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c granulated sugar
1/3 c peanut butter
1 tbs honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1 large ripe banana, mashed (about 1 cup)
2 c old fashioned oats

Peanut Butter Honey Glaze
3 tbs of smooth peanut butter
1/2 c powdered sugar
2 tbs milk
1 tbs honey

Directions;
1. Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and sugars, mix until smooth. Add peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and egg. Combine until smooth. Next add banana, and mix until combined.
3. Slowly add in flour mixture until combined. Stir in the oats.
4. Drop cookie dough by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Cool completely on wire racks.
5. To make the glaze - combine all ingredients and whisk until smooth. If it is too thick or thin adjust by adding more milk or powdered sugar.
6. Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies.