Personally, I think 10 pounds of chocolate and a few handfuls of stale multi-colored conversation hearts is the perfect way to say, "I love you in a purely platonic and completely age-appropriate way, even if you did throw an action figure at my Lincoln Logs castle last week." Alexis, however, decided cookies were the way to go when it came time to put together Valentine's Day goodies for her class.
As luck would have it, I had that whole Monster Cookies/Nutella Frankenstein-like thing I wanted to try. Who better to bake experimental cookies for than a bunch of preschoolers? It's not like they are going to complain if they suck, and even if they do, who is going to listen? We're talking about the portion of the population that dips grapes in ketchup and declares the concoction, "So yummy!"
It turns out the Nutella infused Monster Cookies didn't suck. Not that *I* would know. I didn't eat like four of them in one night. Nope. Actually, I know they didn't suck because I got three separate emails from preschool parents asking for the recipe. First of all, if you're asking for the recipe for cookies that were sent for your kid? I kind of love you because I totally would have stolen a cookie, too. Second of all . . . um . . . never mind. I started thinking about Nutella and peanut butter and M&Ms getting together and my brain shut down and went to its happy place.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm . . . Nutella . . . peanut butter . . . M&Ms . . .
Oh, yeah. Recipe. RECIPE. Here's the concoction:
Nutella Monster Cookies
1 stick softened butter
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups Nutella (Or the whole jar. It doesn't matter.) (Seriously. If the cookie batter seems too liquidy, you can just add more oatmeal.)
1 cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons baking powder
5 cups oatmeal
1 bag plain M&Ms (Yes, the whole bag. Trust me.)
1 cup chocolate chips (Or the whole bag. Whatever.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine butter, brown sugar, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add in the eggs, vanilla, salt, and peanut butter, mixing well. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
Drop by the heaping tablespoon onto cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before removing from cookie sheets.
Makes approximately 3 dozen (large) cookies.
Heart Sprinkles Totally Optional****************************************************************************
Thank you to everyone who left a comment on the pediatrician post. It did help to have confirmation that I'm not crazy and that the short person really is just fine. Since there were no anonymous, "Uh, she's fat," comments, I must not be blind or delusional. This time.
I'm writing a letter to the head honcho to explain why we are no longer willing to see that particular doctor. I'll report back on whatever happens, if anything.