cookies, and why i currently loathe them. also, why i mostly like amc.

every year, a group of lovely ladies and i have a cookie exchange. each lady makes 7 dozen of the same cookies and then switches with everyone so we each have a dozen of all 7 kinds of cookie. i used to try to make really complicated cookies, like those filled pecan lace praline-type cookies and whatnot. this year, since my wonderful husband took me to a whoopie pie-making class at hershey farm inn for valentine's day, i decided i would try my hand at some miniature chocolate whoopie pies. so i did a few recipe trial runs and came out with BEAUTIFUL, yummy whoopie pies with a delicious marshmallow fulling, coated with sparkly red sprinkles, but they were still a little too big. figuring i could just make them smaller, i made them about 3 nights before the exchange. well they came out flat and not-so-tasty looking, but i was going to give them out anyway because honestly, they were still super delicious. so i packaged them up in little bakery boxes and thought i was done with all that. but since the kitchen is being re-done, i was forced to leave them on the counter for the evening, where my dog promptly ate them. so in the morning, before the cookie exchange brunch and with my kitchen all ripped apart, i made another 10 dozen cookie! however, i decided not to torment myself with those whoopie pies again. i made oatmeal and toffee chocolate chunk cookies, and they were/are totally awesome. however, since my kitchen is half done now and has no counters or sink or anything, i can get some respite from holiday baking (i also made rye bread, blueberry cake, and a super-awesome black pepper pound cake the night before the cookie incident). anyway, here's the recipe for the oatmeal cookies...it is super easy and makes like a ton (for the 7 dozen i needed, i doubled it and ended up with about 2-3 dozen extra). adapted from betty crocker cake mix book:

ingredients:

1 box butter yellow cake mix

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup margarine

1 teaspoon (or more, depending on your tastes) good vanilla extract

1 egg

2 cups quick-cooking oats

1 cup chocolate and toffee pieces, roughly chopped (or 1 bag of those yummy heath bar pieces)

directions:

1. Heat oven to 350. In large bowl, beat cake mix, brown sugar, butter, shortening, water, cinnamon and egg with electric mixer on medium speed about 1 minute or until smooth. With spoon, stir in oats and chocolate and toffee pieces.
2. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 9 to 12 minutes (centers will be soft). Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets. Store covered.
4. consume by the dozens. yum.

i was lucky to have such an easy recipe in my mental file so that i didn't go completely cuckoo-bananas when deandra ate the whoopie pies, though whether i'll go on a baking jag the next time i'm having work done in my kitchen and have no storage is another matter. i should have known better, obviously.

on an entirely different note, i think i'm done with boardwalk empire. it totally jumped the shark. but are you watching hell on wheels on amc? i wasn't convinced at first, but i am following it now. why? well i like railroads and westerns, but it's mostly because of this guy right here:

yummy. he's even a semi-good guy, like a reluctant occasional almost-hero who sometimes kind of saves most of the day. you should watch it at least once. plus it has a creepy swede who is just kind of fun to watch.
i have such a love/hate relationship with AMC. i ADORE so many of their shows (obviously mad men, most definitely the walking dead, the killing, and hell on wheels), but i really can't deal with their dangling plotlines and the way they break up their seasons so that you get like 2 episodes every 17 months. every once in a while i toy with the idea of not watching their shows anymore, but i'm such a sucker for a good story, and so many shows on amc are just good stories.