This has been a rough week. 3 employees have left, 3 have been out sick. We hit a gas line on a job, we have a gas leak in the office. It's snowed, it's rained, it's freezing cold and our heat is turned off.

On top of that, I've had test after test ran last week. I told J. "I've been poked more times than Paris Hilton!" Apparently there's nothing major going on, I do have a cyst on my right ovary, but we aren't doing much about it at this point. Just "wait and see." It's better news than it could have been, but it's still a bit scary.

When it all gets to much to bear, what else is there to do but bake? I pulled out an old recipe of mine. These are my best friend's absolute favorite cookies. He was sooooooo mad when he found out I made them (he does not live in the same town). They are the perfect milk cookies, not really soft, not really crisp. Just the kind of chewy texture that demands a big icy glass.

Mint Chocolate Cookies

Recipe by me!

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup Andes mint chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream butter and sugars in mixing bowl. Add egg and vanilla and mix at medium speed.

In separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients.

On low speed, add dry ingredients to the wet. Mix well. Stir in chips.

Drop dough onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes. Cool and enjoy!

Oh and don't take these anywhere near plumbing technicians or they will be gone before you know it!

Thanksgiving Yummies

My sister asked me for this recipe today, so I figured I'd post it on here. I'm not really cooking today, sort of taking the weekend off since it's my birthday weekend.

My aunt brought these to Thanksgiving a few years ago. My sisters and I DEVOURED them. Seriously, we could not keep our hands out of the container. Mom kept telling us to stop eating cookies or we couldn't complain about our weight (it was during those awkward high school years when we all had self esteem issues). We didn't care. We kept going back for more and more and more.

For my wedding shower, my sister put together a book of recipes from everyone in attendance. Aunt Ellen submitted this one, because she knew how much I loved these cookies. These are dangerous. Proceed with caution.

Pumpkin Cookies

From Aunt Ellen

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups white sugar

2 cups pumpkin

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

4 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream butter, sugar, and pumpkin.

Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well.

Drop cookies onto greased pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Cool Completely.

Ice with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

From Aunt Ellen

8 oz cream cheese

1 tsp vanilla

1 stick softened butter

16 oz powdered sugar

Mix together cream cheese, vanilla, and butter. Slowly mix in powdered sugar until you come to your preferred consistency and sweetness. (I like to taste the cream cheese, some people prefer it a lot sweeter. I never use all 16 oz of sugar.)