Want S'more??

We are transitioning nicely into our school-year schedule.  Alicia is in the 2nd grade and loves it! 

Next week, we'll have our first Brownie meeting here at our house.  I've discovered a new hobby of housecleaning which I hope is not just a passing fad...  But I figure scheduling a bi-weekly onslaught of 14 second graders will be enough inspiration to carry me through.

Stephen's getting used to the long hours of his new job.  He works 8 days on and has 6 days off.  Regardless of the physical challenge, the stress levels are MUCH lower with this job and that is worth the effort.  He just got certified as a Level III Wastewater Operator with the State of Alaska.  So, he's pretty glad about that.

Tess stopped by just now and I unloaded lots of miscellaneous household items on her to be used at her new place.  My new cleaning hobby is turning up all sorts of things we have no need for and no room to store them.  Towels, cups, utensils....  You'd think an entire army lived here instead of just the 3 of us.  Purge purge purge!

We've spent some time enjoying the State Fair this past week.  Alicia entered the Kid Cookie Contest and won 4th place out of 38 entries!  Hooray!  She was shooting for 2nd place.  Because, if you win 1st place, you're not eligible to enter the following year.  But, she is more than satisfied with the 4th place showing for her S'mores Cookies.  If you're interested in whipping up your own batch, here's the recipe:

S’mores Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk chocolate chips

1 pack graham crackers

3 Hershey bars, broken into pieces

2 cups mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Arrange graham cracker squares on a baking sheet and set aside.

Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine baking soda, salt, and flour in a small bowl.  Slowly add the flour mixture into the batter.  Mix well.  Stir in milk chocolate chips.

Form 1” balls of the cookie dough and place a dough ball in the center of each graham cracker.  Bake the cookies for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are starting to brown.  Remove from the oven and top each cookie with 2 mini marshmallows. 

Return cookie sheet to the oven for another 2-3 minutes, or until the marshmallows have started to melt and the cookies appear nicely browned. 

Cool the cookies for 5 minutes.  Then, top each cookie with a section of a Hershey chocolate bar.  Allow to cool completely.  Enjoy!