Pinterest Pickings - Oreo Chip Cookies

I've decided to add a new side to my blog - critiques of recipes I try on Pinterest.  Why?  Because Pinterest is just so darn big, I know I have a problem finding recipes there that I know will work.  I've had a few be downright failures, and then I see the simplest of cookies, only to open up the ingredients only to find directions that direct me to the path of the Woolly Mammoth in Katmandu for milk.  No.  I want something simple that I can either make at 5:30 in the morning when I've got the extreme hankerin' to bake, or a quick dinner at night when I'm shuffling kidlets to and from activities.  So, here goes.

Oh yes, let's not forget my lame attempt at food porn, as seen above.  This photo is of what I made at 6:30 am today - White Chocolate Oreo Cookies.  And they turned out super yummy.

I was walking through Stop and Shop with Kidlet B yesterday, he was amazed at the new Oreo Thins.  "Who would buy these?  I mean, who wants thin Oreos?" was his complaint.  I became fixated on the chocolate wafer cookies, and just knew I had to put them in some sort of recipe.  Ice cream cookie pie - done before, too easy.  I wanted to BAKE something with them.  So I searched Pinterest.

Now, for those of you on Pinterest, you know the minute you type in any category you'll get a thousand hits back.  Such was the case with "Oreo Cookie."  (And no, I did not buy the thin ones.  Thin Oreos?  I agree with my son.  Bring on the Double Stuffed!)  The first recipe that came up required cream cheese in the recipe.  Nope, not in my house.  I did not feel like dragging my sorry arse back out in the heat, back to Stop and Shop, for cream cheese, which I'll admit I'm not a fan of unless it's a needed ingredient.  Next!  The following recipe called for vanilla pudding.  I searched my cabinets, as I usually have some on hand.  I make a great cookie bar with vanilla pudding, but alas - none!  Search, search, search I did until I came upon this great recipe from The Recipe Critic.  Butter - check.  Sugars white and brown - check.  Oreos - check.  White chocolate chips - check.  I was ready to try this out.

The simplicity of the recipe is what I liked best, and the results were fan-yumsterable-tastic.  The only thing I did differently is used half the amount of white chocolate chips (again, I wasn't about to drag my lazy self back to the supermarket for more).  They still came out fantastic!

Crushing the Oreos was very therapeutic.  How do you crush Oreos, you may ask?  Ah, it's a joy, especially early in the morning.  I took out my cutting board, and laid down two pieces of wax paper.  I put down two Oreo cookies atop one another in between the wax paper, and then slammed them with a meat tenderizer.  Oh yeah!  I must remember to use this method again once the school year starts and I feel stress building.  The pieces were just the right size.  Perfect!

My oven baked them at nine minutes (my oven runs true to temperature), but always test your own, and make sure they don't overcook.  They are so chewy and delish.  Put vanilla ice cream between two to make the perfect ice cream sandwich!

Enjoy!

Goodbye, Vermont

I left vacation a day early.  I know, I know.  With pristine views like the one above, how could I have possibly jumped in that Volvo and sped off?  I had two weeks of blissful days up in the Green Mountain State, but just.had.to.leave.

I adore Vermont.  The longer I stayed there the more I wanted to live there.  I feel like that every year.  There's a certain pace to life that I so enjoy.  People aren't as tense.  There's the natural beauty of the lake, the mountains, which grounds me.  I adore the farmer's markets which seem to spring up in every town on nearly each day of the week.  Perhaps I'm just the yuppie tourist, enjoying her lattes in the gourmet bakeries (Oh my gawd - try Laundry in Vergennes - to die for little chocolate cookies, too!).  I have this view of Vermont that's taken during the warm, summer months, when I'm licking a maple creamy so the sides don't drip down onto my skin.

Yes, vacation was full of fun.  I went on an amazing college tour with my sons at Champlain College, where there's a library terrace that overlooks the lake, and a major in Cyber Security.  How cool is that?  I read, read, and read seven books, pouring through words.  Swimming off the dock and in the sandbar, boat rides with my brother, a bike ride where I almost ran over tourists, all was a good time.

But the closer it got the end I found myself becoming depressed.  A lot of feelings of failure crept in, perhaps triggered from the college visit.  I have so much I want to do, but I haven't done it.  Why?  What am I waiting for?  What am I scared of?  Am I just on the wrong path?

I always wanted to own a summer place, either on the lake or the beach.  Why can't I be ever so thankful that I'm renting a quaint cottage with amazing views and leave it at that?  No, I always want more.  I seem to never be happy with what I have.  I need to change that and make myself express gratitude for what I have, instead of obsessing for what I seek.

So home I came.  Back to the loving meow of my cat, Avi, a stack of mail, and five loads of laundry that needed to be done.  Let the work begin!

I'm trying to think of ways to continue the peace I did gain on vacation back here at home.  One is to keep up my pace of reading throughout the summer until school starts (even though I was just uploading information into my school Skpe account - I can never stay away from the job!).  I've got my pile of books from the library today, so I'm ready.

And gratitude.  Yes, with gratitude comes greatness in life.